In vivo neuropathology of the hippocampal formation in AD:
A radial mapping MR-based study
Source: NeuroImage
2006 Aug;32(1):104-110.
Author: Frisoni GB, Sabattoli F, Lee AD, Dutton RA, Toga AW, Thompson PM. PubMed ID: 16631382
Abstract:
Early involvement of the hippocampal formation is the biological basis
of the typical learning deficit in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the
hippocampal formation is unevenly affected by AD pathology, deposits
of plaques and tangles being particularly dense in the CA1 field and
subiculum. The aim of the study was to locate in vivo the structural
changes within the hippocampal formation in AD patients of mild to
moderate severity. A group of 28 AD patients and 40 cognitively intact
persons (age 74 T 9 and 71 T 7 years) underwent T1-weighted highresolution
MR scans. The hippocampal formation was isolated by
manually tracing on 35 coronal slices the outlines of the hippocampus
proper and subiculum after registration to a common stereotactic
space. Group differences were assessed with algorithms developed ad
hoc that make use of three-dimensional parametric surface mesh
models. In AD patients, significant atrophic changes amounting to
tissue loss of 20% or more were found in regions of the hippocampal
formation corresponding to the CA1 field and part of the subiculum.
Regions corresponding to the CA2– 3 fields were remarkably spared.
We conclude that the regions of the hippocampal formation that we
found atrophic in AD patients are those known to be affected from
pathological studies. This study supports the possibility of carrying out
in vivo macroscopic neuropathology of the hippocampus with MR
imaging in the neurodegenerative dementias.