The CT-based radial width of the temporal horn: pathological validation in AD without cerebrovascular disease.

BACKGROUND

Medial temporal lobe atrophy is one of the most accurate markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given the wide availability of the CT in the routine diagnostic assessment of patients with cognitive disturbances, a CT-based marker of AD might be clinically useful.

OBJECTIVE

To test the accuracy of a simple CT-based measure, the radial width of the temporal horn (rWTH).

METHOD

The rWTH was taken in a group of 20 pathologically confirmed AD patients and 23 non demented persons enrolled in the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Aging (OPTIMA project).

RESULTS

The rWTH was significantly larger in AD patients than controls. Using a cutoff value between 3.9 at 50 and 8.1 at 90 years, the rWTH was able to correctly classify 16/20 and 19/23 subjects with a sensitivity and a specificity of 80% and 83%. The overall accuracy was 81%.

CONCLUSION

The CT measurement of the rWTH is a simple and reasonably sensitive marker of regional brain atrophy in AD.