Journal of Alzheimer's Disease - Volume 17, issue 1

Authors: Thomann, Philipp A. | Dos Santos, Vasco | Seidl, Ulrich | Toro, Pablo | Essig, Marco | Schröder, Johannes

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: There is increasing histopathological evidence that the olfactory bulb and tract (OBT) is a primary focus of neurodegenerative changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Correspondingly, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant atrophy of the OBT in manifest AD. Whether these alterations are already present in mild cognitive impairment, the assumed preclinical stage of AD, has not been investigated yet. OBT volumes were assessed by manual tracing in 29 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 27 patients with probable AD, and 30 healthy controls. In a second step, voxel based morphometry was used to investigate the potential association between OBT atrophy and morphological …changes in other brain regions. Patients had significantly lower OBT volumes when compared to controls, with atrophy being most prominent in the AD group. In addition, OBT atrophy was associated with a decreased medial temporal lobe (MTL) gray matter density bilaterally. Our findings indicate that neurodegeneration in OBT and MTL regions is linked and suggest that OBT volume might be a surrogate marker in AD. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, magnetic resonance imaging, mild cognitive impairment, olfactory bulb and tract, voxel based morphometry

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1036

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 213-221, 2009

Authors: Chu, Leung-Wing | Tam, Sidney | Lee, Peter W.H. | Yik, Ping-Yiu | Song, Youqiang | Cheung, Bernard M.Y. | Lam, Karen S.L.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: We investigated the progressive associations of late-life body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Chinese older adults in a case-control study. Late-life BMI and WC were measured. AD was diagnosed by the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD and aMCI by the Petersen's criteria. 426 Chinese older adults [125 AD, 125 aMCI and 176 controls with normal cognition (NC)], aged 55 to 93 years old, were recruited. Both BMI and WC decreased significantly across the normal, aMCI, and AD groups (dementia diagnostic group: p for trend < 0.001 and …0.016 respectively, 1-way ANOVA). After adjustment for significant confounders, multivariate general linear model analyses showed that the dementia diagnostic group (AD/aMCI/NC) was a significant independent predictor of both the late-life BMI and late-life WC (p = 0.002 and 0.018 respectively). In conclusion, late-life BMI and WC progressively decrease in older adults with normal cognition, aMCI, and AD. Low late-life BMI and WC represent potentially useful pre-clinical markers of aMCI and AD. Show more

Keywords: Aging, Alzheimer's disease, body mass index, Chinese, mild cognitive impairment

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1043

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 223-232, 2009

Article Type: Discussion

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1084

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 233-238, 2009

Article Type: Announcement

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1101

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 239-242, 2009