Dement Neurocogn Disord.  2019 Dec;18(4):113-121. 10.12779/dnd.2019.18.4.113.

Different Cortical Thinning Patterns Depending on Their Prognosis in Individuals with Subjective Cognitive Decline

• Lim EY
• Shim YS
• Hong YJ
• Ryu SY
• Cho AH
• Yang DW

• KMID: 2466754
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12779/dnd.2019.18.4.113

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be the first stage corresponding to subtle cognitive changes in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum disorders. We evaluated the differences in cortical thinning patterns among patients with SCD who progressed to mild cognitive impairment or dementia (pSCD), those who remained stable (sSCD), and healthy normal controls (NCs).
METHODS
We retrospectively recruited SCD subjects (14 pSCD and 21 sSCD cases) and 29 NCs. Structural 3-dimensional-T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed using a single 1.5 Tesla scanner. Freesurfer software was used to map cortical thickness for group comparisons.
RESULTS
Compared with NC group, the sSCD group showed diffuse cortical atrophy associated with bilateral fronto-parieto-temporal area. The pSCD group showed further characteristic cortical atrophy in AD-vulnerable regions including the inferior parieto-temporal and middle temporal areas. Cortical thinning in the bilateral medial frontal areas was observed in patients with sSCD and involved the right inferior temporal and left precentral areas in those with pSCD.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study showed that SCD subjects exhibit different cortical thinning patterns depending on their prognosis.

Keyword

Cognitive Decline; Alzheimer's Disease; Dementia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease
Atrophy
Dementia
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Prognosis*
Retrospective Studies

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Cortical thickness adjusting mean cortical thickness between pSCD and sSCD. The SCD subjects who progressed showed cortical thinning in the inferior temporal area (A), in the other hand, the SCD subjects who remained stable showed cortical thinning in the bilateral medial frontal area (B). pSCD: subjective cognitive decline subjects who progress, sSCD: subjective cognitive decline subjects who remained stable, SCD: subjective cognitive decline.

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