Ohnishi T, Matsuda H, Tabira T, Asada T, Uno M
Department of Radiology, National Center Hospital of Mental, Nervous, and Muscular Disorders, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2001 Oct;22(9):1680-5.
Whether Alzheimer disease (AD) represents exaggerated aging rather than a disease is controversial. Data about the effects of normal aging on the human brain are essential for clarifying this issue; however, whether coherent common patterns of regional morphologic brain changes emerge in the normal aged brain is unclear. Clarification of regional morphologic changes in the brain associated with normal aging and AD was sought using MR imaging.
Ninety-two healthy volunteers and 26 mildly to moderately impaired patients with AD participated. Images were anatomically normalized, and voxel-by-voxel analyses were done.
In healthy volunteers, an age-related decline in the volume of the prefrontal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and precuneus was found. These decreases might contribute to the cognitive changes during normal aging. In patients with AD, a significant reduction of gray matter volume in the hippocampal formation and entorhinal cortex bilaterally was noted.
Morphologic changes associated with normal aging are clearly different from those seen with AD.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）究竟是过度衰老而非一种疾病，这一问题存在争议。关于正常衰老对人脑影响的数据对于阐明该问题至关重要；然而，尚不清楚在正常老年大脑中是否会出现一致的区域形态学脑变化常见模式。本研究旨在通过磁共振成像（MR成像）来明确与正常衰老及AD相关的脑区域形态学变化。
92名健康志愿者和26名轻度至中度受损的AD患者参与了研究。对图像进行解剖学标准化处理，并进行逐体素分析。
在健康志愿者中，发现前额叶皮质、岛叶、前扣带回、颞上回、顶下小叶和楔前叶的体积随年龄增长而下降。这些减少可能导致正常衰老过程中的认知变化。在AD患者中，双侧海马结构和内嗅皮质的灰质体积显著减少。
与正常衰老相关的形态学变化明显不同于AD患者所见的变化。
