A meta-analysis of hippocampal atrophy rates in Alzheimer's disease

Barnes, Josephine; Bartlett, Jonathan W.; van de Pol, Laura A.; Loy, Clement T.; Scahill, Rachael I.; Frost, Chris; Thompson, Paul; Fox, Nick C.

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.01.010

« Previous Next »Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 30, Issue 11 , Pages 1711-1723, November 2009

A meta-analysis of hippocampal atrophy rates in Alzheimer's disease

Josephine Barnes
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Corresponding author at: Dementia Research Centre, Box 16, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Tel.: +44 845 155 5000x723804; fax: +44 207 676 2066.
Jonathan W. Bartlett
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Laura A. van de Pol
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Clement T. Loy
- Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia
Rachael I. Scahill
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
Chris Frost
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Paul Thompson
- Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Nick C. Fox
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK

Received 9 July 2007; received in revised form 4 January 2008; accepted 18 January 2008. published online 17 March 2008.

Abstract

Hippocampal atrophy rates are useful in both diagnosing and tracking Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, cohorts and methods used to determine such rates are heterogeneous, leading to differences in reported annualised rates. We performed a meta-analysis of hippocampal atrophy rates in AD patients and matched controls from studies reported in the peer-reviewed literature. Studies reporting longitudinal volume change in hippocampi in AD subjects together with controls were systematically identified and appraised. All authors were contacted either to confirm the results or to provide missing data. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were then performed on this data. Nine studies were included from seven centres, with data from a total of 595 AD and 212 matched controls. Mean (95% CIs) annualised hippocampal atrophy rates were found to be 4.66% (95% CI 3.92, 5.40) for AD subjects and 1.41% (0.52, 2.30) for controls. The difference between AD and control subject in this rate was 3.33% (1.73, 4.94).

Keywords: Meta-analysis, Hippocampus, Atrophy, AD, Alzheimer's, Rates, Longitudinal