VOLUMETRIC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING CHANGES IN MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND ALZHEIMER’S DEMENTIA

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a particular interest in MCI because this syndrome is thought to be a transitional stage
to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that may define a window for effective therapeutic interventions. However,
not all patients with MCI will go on to develop AD .Objectives. To explore volume changes of the brain
in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared with normal cognition
(NC). Methods. This study included 40 subjects with NC, 36 patients with MCI, and 29 patients with AD.
The severity of cognitive decline was graded according to the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Volumes
of the ERC, hippocampus, total grey matter, white matter volume and total intracranial volumes were
manually measured based on coronal T1 weighted MR images. Results. Level and duration of education
and MMSE were higher in control group than in MCI and Alzheimer’s disease groups. ERC,
hippocampus, total grey matter, white matter volume and total intracranial volumes were reduced in all
regions compared with MCI and NC with highly significant difference Conclusions. Imaging are
encouraging for improving diagnosis of the disease at an early stage and provide the rationale for early
treatment and objective measures for therapeutic effects in clinical trials.
Keywords: MRI , mild cognitive impairment , dementia