Skip to main content
AAN.com
Articles
July 12, 2004

Medial temporal lobe atrophy on MRI predicts dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Background: Although detailed volumetric MRI assessment of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) can predict dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), it is not easily applied to routine clinical practice.
Objective: To test the predictive accuracy of visually assessed MTA in MCI patients using a standardized visual rating scale.
Methods: Seventy-five MCI patients (mean age 63 years) underwent a coronal three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo brain MRI sequence. MTA was rated visually using a 5-point rating scale.
Results: The mean follow-up period for the cohort was 34 months. At follow-up, 49% of the enrolled MCI patients fulfilled criteria for dementia. MTA assessed using a standardized visual rating scale was significantly associated with dementia at follow-up, with a hazard ratio of 1.5 for every point increase in atrophy score (p < 0.001) and of 3.1 for the presence of atrophy based on the dichotomized atrophy score (p = 0.003). The predictive accuracy of visually assessed MTA was independent of age, gender, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes score, Verbal Delayed Recall, and the presence of hypertension, depression, the APOE ε4 allele, and white matter hyperintensities.
Conclusions: Visual assessment of MTA on brain MRI using a standardized rating scale is a powerful and independent predictor of conversion to dementia in relatively young MCI patients. As overlap existed in MTA scores between patients with and without dementia at follow-up, the results should be interpreted in the light of the odds for the individual patient.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

1.
Petersen RC, Stevens JC, Ganguli M, Tangalos EG, Cummings JL, DeKosky ST. Practice parameter: early detection of dementia: mild cognitive impairment (an evidence-based review). Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 2001; 56: 1133–1142.
2.
Morris JC, Storandt M, Miller JP, et al. Mild cognitive impairment represents early-stage Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol. 2001; 58: 397–405.
3.
Du AT, Schuff N, Amend D, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001; 71: 441–447.
4.
Golebiowski M, Barcikowska M, Pfeffer A. Magnetic resonance imaging-based hippocampal volumetry in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 1999; 10: 284–288.
5.
Gosche KM, Mortimer JA, Smith CD, Markesbery WR, Snowdon DA. Hippocampal volume as an index of Alzheimer neuropathology: findings from the Nun Study. Neurology. 2002; 58: 1476–1482.
6.
Jack CR Jr, Petersen RC, Xu YC, et al. Medial temporal atrophy on MRI in normal aging and very mild Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology. 1997; 49: 786–794.
7.
Jack CR Jr, Dickson DW, Parisi JE, et al. Antemortem MRI findings correlate with hippocampal neuropathology in typical aging and dementia. Neurology. 2002; 58: 750–757.
8.
Killiany RJ, Hyman BT, Gomez-Isla T, et al. MRI measures of entorhinal cortex vs hippocampus in preclinical AD. Neurology. 2002; 58: 1188–1196.
9.
Scheltens P, Leys D, Barkhof F, et al. Atrophy of medial temporal lobes on MRI in “probable” Alzheimer’s disease and normal ageing: diagnostic value and neuropsychological correlates. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1992; 55: 967–972.
10.
Jack CR Jr, Petersen RC, Xu YC, et al. Prediction of AD with MRI-based hippocampal volume in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology. 1999; 52: 1397–1403.
11.
Dickerson BC, Goncharova I, Sullivan MP, et al. MRI-derived entorhinal and hippocampal atrophy in incipient and very mild Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging. 2001; 22: 747–754.
12.
Visser PJ, Scheltens P, Verhey FR, et al. Medial temporal lobe atrophy and memory dysfunction as predictors for dementia in subjects with mild cognitive impairment. J Neurol. 1999; 246: 477–485.
13.
Visser PJ, Verhey FR, Hofman PA, Scheltens P, Jolles J. Medial temporal lobe atrophy predicts Alzheimer’s disease in patients with minor cognitive impairment. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2002; 72: 491–497.
14.
de Leon MJ, Golomb J, George AE, et al. The radiologic prediction of Alzheimer disease: the atrophic hippocampal formation. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1993; 14: 897–906.
15.
Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. “Mini-Mental State.” A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975; 12: 189–198.
16.
Hughes CP, Berg L, Danziger WL, Coben LA, Martin RL. A new clinical scale for the staging of dementia. Br J Psychiatry. 1982; 140: 566–572.
17.
Buerger K, Teipel SJ, Zinkowski R, et al. CSF tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 231 correlates with cognitive decline in MCI subjects. Neurology. 2002; 59: 627–629.
18.
Chen P, Ratcliff G, Belle SH, Cauley JA, DeKosky ST, Ganguli M. Cognitive tests that best discriminate between presymptomatic AD and those who remain nondemented. Neurology. 2000; 55: 1847–1853.
19.
Jack CR Jr, Petersen RC, Xu Y, et al. Rates of hippocampal atrophy correlate with change in clinical status in aging and AD. Neurology. 2000; 55: 484–489.
20.
Petersen RC, Smith GE, Ivnik RJ, et al. Apolipoprotein E status as a predictor of the development of Alzheimer’s disease in memory-impaired individuals. JAMA. 1995; 273: 1274–1278.
21.
Visser PJ, Verhey FR, Ponds RW, Kester A, Jolles J. Distinction between preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and depression. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000; 48: 479–484.
22.
DeCarli C, Miller BL, Swan GE, Reed T, Wolf PA, Carmelli D. Cerebrovascular and brain morphologic correlates of mild cognitive impairment in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Twin Study. Arch Neurol. 2001; 58: 643–647.
23.
Wolf H, Ecke GM, Bettin S, Dietrich J, Gertz HJ. Do white matter changes contribute to the subsequent development of dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment? A longitudinal study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2000; 15: 803–812.
24.
American Psychiatric Association. American Psychiatric Association Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1994.
25.
Montgomery SA, Asberg M. A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. Br J Psychiatry. 1979; 134: 382–389.
26.
Jelic V, Shigeta M, Julin P, Almkvist O, Winblad B, Wahlund LO. Quantitative electroencephalography power and coherence in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Dementia. 1996; 7: 314–323.
27.
Wechsler A. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised manual. San Antonio: Psychological Corp, 1981.
28.
Lezak MD. Neuropsychological assessment. New York: New York University Press, 1995.
29.
Backman L, Forsell Y. Episodic memory functioning in a community-based sample of old adults with major depression: utilization of cognitive support. J Abnorm Psychol. 1994; 103: 361–370.
30.
McKhann G, Drachman D, Folstein M, Katzman R, Price D, Stadlan EM. Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurology. 1984; 34: 939–944.
31.
Roman GC, Tatemichi TK, Erkinjuntti T, et al. Vascular dementia: diagnostic criteria for research studies. Report of the NINDS-AIREN International Workshop. Neurology. 1993; 43: 250–260.
32.
Wahlund LO, Barkhof F, Fazekas F, et al. A new rating scale for age-related white matter changes applicable to MRI and CT. Stroke. 2001; 32: 1318–1322.
33.
Scheltens P, Launer LJ, Barkhof F, Weinstein HC, van Gool WA. Visual assessment of medial temporal lobe atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging: interobserver reliability. J Neurol. 1995; 242: 557–560.
34.
Lopez OL, Becker JT, Jungreis CA, et al. Computed tomography—but not magnetic resonance imaging—identified periventricular white-matter lesions predict symptomatic cerebrovascular disease in probable Alzheimer’s disease. Arch Neurol. 1995; 52: 659–664.
35.
Galton CJ, Gomez-Anson B, Antoun N, et al. Temporal lobe rating scale: application to Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001; 70: 165–173.
36.
Wahlund LO, Julin P, Johansson SE, Scheltens P. Visual rating and volumetry of the medial temporal lobe on magnetic resonance imaging in dementia: a comparative study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2000; 69: 630–635.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Neurology®
Volume 63Number 1July 13, 2004
Pages: 94-100
PubMed: 15249617

Publication History

Received: April 14, 2003
Accepted: March 2, 2004
Published online: July 12, 2004
Published in print: July 13, 2004

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations & Disclosures

Esther S.C. Korf, MD
From the Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center (Drs. Korf, Visser, and Scheltens), Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, and Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology (Dr. Visser), Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Department of Geriatrics (Dr. Wahlund), Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lars-Olof Wahlund, MD PhD
From the Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center (Drs. Korf, Visser, and Scheltens), Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, and Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology (Dr. Visser), Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Department of Geriatrics (Dr. Wahlund), Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Pieter Jelle Visser, MD PhD
From the Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center (Drs. Korf, Visser, and Scheltens), Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, and Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology (Dr. Visser), Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Department of Geriatrics (Dr. Wahlund), Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Philip Scheltens, MD PhD
From the Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center (Drs. Korf, Visser, and Scheltens), Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, and Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology (Dr. Visser), Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Department of Geriatrics (Dr. Wahlund), Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

Notes

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. E.S.C. Korf, Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, the Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited By
  1. Using eZIS to Predict Progression from MCI to Dementia in Three Years, Diagnostics, 14, 16, (1780), (2024).https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14161780
    Crossref
  2. Diagnostic utility of brain MRI volumetry in comparing traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer disease and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, BMC Neurology, 24, 1, (2024).https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-024-03844-4
    Crossref
  3. Sodium signal intensity of CSF using 1H‐guided 23Na‐MRI as a potential noninvasive biomarker in Alzheimer's disease, Journal of Neuroimaging, 34, 5, (619-626), (2024).https://doi.org/10.1111/jon.13216
    Crossref
  4. Automated detection of Alzheimer’s disease: a multi-modal approach with 3D MRI and amyloid PET, Scientific Reports, 14, 1, (2024).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56001-9
    Crossref
  5. Alzheimer disease (AD) medical image analysis with convolutional neural networks, Intelligent Fractal-Based Image Analysis, (197-230), (2024).https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-44-318468-0.00017-9
    Crossref
  6. Fractal Analysis in Neurodegenerative Diseases, The Fractal Geometry of the Brain, (365-384), (2024).https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47606-8_18
    Crossref
  7. Metacognitive Differences in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Cognition: A Cross-Sectional Study Employing Online Measures, Journal of Intelligence, 11, 9, (184), (2023).https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11090184
    Crossref
  8. Decreased Brain Structural Network Connectivity in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Novel Fractal Dimension Analysis, Brain Sciences, 13, 1, (93), (2023).https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010093
    Crossref
  9. uRP: An integrated research platform for one-stop analysis of medical images, Frontiers in Radiology, 3, (2023).https://doi.org/10.3389/fradi.2023.1153784
    Crossref
  10. Increase of ALCAM and VCAM-1 in the plasma predicts the Alzheimer’s disease, Frontiers in Immunology, 13, (2023).https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1097409
    Crossref
  11. See more
Loading...

View Options

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Personal login Institutional Login
Purchase Options

The neurology.org payment platform is currently offline. Our technical team is working as quickly as possible to restore service.

If you need immediate support or to place an order, please call or email customer service:

  • 1-800-638-3030 for U.S. customers - 8:30 - 7 pm ET (M-F)
  • 1-301-223-2300 for customers outside the U.S. - 8:30 - 7 pm ET (M-F)
  • [email protected]

We appreciate your patience during this time and apologize for any inconvenience.

View options

PDF and All Supplements

Download PDF and Supplementary Material

Full Text

View Full Text

Full Text HTML

View Full Text HTML

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share