Pre-dementia Memory Impairment is Associated with White Matter Tract Affection

• DOI: 10.1017/s1355617710001360
• Publication Date: 2010-11-24T10:11:55Z
• Authors: Ramune Grambaite; Ivar Reinvang; Per Selnes; Anders M. Fjell; Kristine B. Walhovd; Vidar Stenset; Tormod Fladby
• Keywords: Parahippocampal gyrus; Entorhinal cortex; Cingulum (brain)

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), especially amnestic, often represents pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease, characterized by medial temporal lobe atrophy, while white matter (WM) alterations are insufficiently described. We analyze both cortical morphometric and WM diffusivity differences in amnestic versus non-amnestic subtypes ask if memory tract affection related independently of atrophy. Forty-nine patients from a university-hospital based clinic with score 3 on the Global Deterioration Scale aged 43–77 years (45% female) were included. Two neuropsychologists have classified cases as (aMCI), (naMCI), or less advanced (laMCI), not satisfying criteria for aMCI/naMCI. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data temporal-parietal network compared among patient to story, word list, visual memory. radial mean (DR MD), underlying entorhinal cortex, higher aMCI laMCI. DR MD, entorhinal, parahippocampal, middle explained unique variance list story memory, this was due secondary effects thinning. DTI may thus potentially aid diagnosis early disease stages. (JINS, 2011, 17, 000–000)