A Voxel-Based Morphometry of Gray Matter Reduction in Patients with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to find brain regions in which gray matter volume was reduced and to show the capability of voxel-based morphpmetry(VBM) analysis for lateralizing clinically significant brain regions in dementia of Alzheimer's type patients compared to healthy group. METHODS: MR T1-weighted images of the 20 dementia of Alzheimer's type patients were compared with those of the 20 normal controls. Images were transformed to standard MNI space. In order to observe gray matter volume change. Gray matter was smoothed with a Gaussian kernel. After these preprocessing, stati-stical analysis was performed using statistical parametric mapping software(SPM2). RESULTS: Gray matter volume was significantly reduced in the bilateral parahippocampal gyri, Lt. anterior cingulate gyrus, Lt. posterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral superior temporal gyri Lt. middle temporal gyrus, Lt. superior, bilateral middle, Rt. anterior frontal gyri and Rt. precuneus in dementia of Alzheimer's type patient group. CONCLUSIONS: These VBM results confirm previous findings of temporal lobe and limbic lobe atrophic cha-nges in dementia of Alzheimer's type, and suggest that these abnormalities may be confined to specific sites within that lobe, rather than showing a widespread distribution.