P1‐145: Effect of age on ventricular enlargement when comparing cognitively normal elderly, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease subjects
Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience progressive ventriculomegaly. Normal aging is likewise associated with ventricular enlargement. Here we report on the extent that aging affects lateral ventricle comparisons between subjects with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitively normal controls (NC). We used a novel automated ventricular segmentation method paired with the radial distance mapping technique to examine the differences in lateral ventricle shape and size between 33 MCI (mean age 72.6±6.4 years) and 34 AD (mean age 75.2±7.9 years) and 43 NC subjects (mean age 66.4±7.9 years). Mean age was significantly different between the NC and the AD and NC and MCI groups. To examine the aging effect we compared the uncorrected between-group comparison maps to those corrected for age, sex and education and developed a quadratic regression model of the effect of age on the lateral ventricle. The uncorrected NC vs. MCI significance maps revealed extensive bilateral frontal (left p=0.008, right p=0.006), left temporal (left p=0.03) and left occipital horn (left p=0.024) differences between the groups. After correction for age, neither education and sex nor diagnosis effects remained significant. The uncorrected MCI vs. AD significance maps revealed trend-level frontal (left p=0.05; right p=0.07), occipital (left p=0.06, left p=0.05) and temporal horn (left p=0.08, left p=0.07) differences. Age-correction reduced the diagnosis effects to the right temporal (p=0.052) and left occipital horns (p=0.07) only. In the NC vs. AD comparison the uncorrected maps showed significant frontal (left p=0.0001; right p=0.0004) and occipital (left p=0.0016; right p=0.0007) and left temporal horn differences (left p=0.016; right p=0.07). The corrected maps revealed significant diagnosis effects only for the bilateral occipital (left p=0.02; right p=0.013) and right frontal horn (left p=0.057; right p=0.04). A quadratic regression model associating age with ventricular radial distance was highly significant throughout the ventricles (p<0.0001 for all). Age induces highly significant effects on lateral ventricle size. Even when no significant between group-differences were detected (i.e., in the MCI vs. AD comparison), the uncorrected and corrected maps showed substantial differences. Age should therefore always be accounted for analyzing lateral ventricle data. be accounted for analyzing lateral ventricle data.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4248167571