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P1‐299: The cerebellum in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: A structural MRI study
Author(s) -
Thomann Philipp A.,
Santos Vasco Dos,
Essig Marco,
Schröder Johannes
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.889
Subject(s) - cerebellum , magnetic resonance imaging , cerebellar hemisphere , atrophy , cognitive impairment , neuroscience , psychology , temporal lobe , lobe , medicine , alzheimer's disease , cognition , pathology , disease , radiology , epilepsy
Background: Neuropathological research consistently revealed the cerebellum to undergo degenerative changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Whether these alterations affect cerebellar morphology in vivo has not yet been investigated in a comprehensive way. Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 20 patients with AD, 20 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 20 healthy controls. By manual tracing the cerebellum was divided in 4 substructures (anterior lobe, superior posterior lobe, inferior posterior lobe and corpus medullare, respectively) on each hemisphere. Results: Posterior cerebellar lobes were significantly smaller in AD patients when compared to healthy controls. In the AD group, atrophy of the posterior cerebellar regions was associated with poorer cognitive performance. Conclusions: Our findings lend further support for cerebellar involvement in AD.