Increased hippocampal atrophy rates in AD over 6 months using serial MR imaging

Barnes, J.; Scahill, R.I.; Frost, C.; Schott, J.M.; Rossor, M.N.; Fox, N.C.

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.02.011

« Previous Next »Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 29, Issue 8 , Pages 1199-1203, August 2008

Increased hippocampal atrophy rates in AD over 6 months using serial MR imaging

J. Barnes
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author at: Dementia Research Centre, Box 16, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom. Tel.: +44 845 155 5000x723804; fax: +44 20 7676 2066.
R.I. Scahill
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
C. Frost
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
J.M. Schott
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
M.N. Rossor
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- Division of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
N.C. Fox
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

Received 28 November 2006; received in revised form 15 January 2007; accepted 5 February 2007. published online 19 March 2007.

Abstract

We measured hippocampi on baseline-, 6- and 12-month scans in a group of AD (n=36) and control subjects (n=20). We found that mean annualised atrophy rates using 6-month intervals were comparable at a group level to those generated from a 12-month interval. Higher variance was seen using shorter intervals, although this was only significant in the control group. This has implications where shorter inter-scan intervals may be advantageous, such as rapid diagnosis, and tracking of disease progression including in a clinical trial.