Burgmans S, van Boxtel M P J, Smeets F, Vuurman E F P M, Gronenschild E H B M, Verhey F R J, Uylings H B M, Jolles J
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
Neurobiol Aging. 2009 Sep;30(9):1413-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.11.028. Epub 2008 Feb 6.
The present study investigated prefrontal cortex (PFC) atrophy as a possible predictor of dementia. Eighty-eight older participants of the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) were administered for neuropsychological tests at baseline and after three years (t(3)). Magnetic resonance images were acquired at t(3) and nine years after baseline all participants were screened for dementia. Three groups were distinguished: (1) participants who did not develop dementia or cognitive decline, (2) participants who did not develop dementia but did show significant cognitive decline, and (3) participants who developed dementia. Gray matter volume of structures in the PFC and medial temporal lobe (MTL) was measured. Prefrontal volume was significantly smaller in group 3 than in the other two groups, and PFC volume was significantly better than MTL volume in distinguishing between groups 2 and 3. These findings suggest that PFC atrophy is highly associated with dementia and can be considered an important predictor of the disease. It may even be a better predictor than the MTL atrophy that has been found in earlier studies.
本研究调查了前额叶皮质（PFC）萎缩作为痴呆症可能预测指标的情况。马斯特里赫特衰老研究（MAAS）的88名老年参与者在基线时和三年后（t(3)）接受了神经心理学测试。在t(3)时采集了磁共振图像，并且在基线后九年对所有参与者进行了痴呆症筛查。区分出三组：（1）未患痴呆症或认知衰退的参与者，（2）未患痴呆症但出现显著认知衰退的参与者，以及（3）患痴呆症的参与者。测量了PFC和内侧颞叶（MTL）结构的灰质体积。第3组的前额叶体积显著小于其他两组，并且在区分第2组和第3组时，PFC体积比MTL体积表现得更好。这些发现表明，PFC萎缩与痴呆症高度相关，可被视为该疾病的一个重要预测指标。它甚至可能是比早期研究中发现的MTL萎缩更好的预测指标。
