Research Centre for the Neurosciences of Ageing, Academic Unit of Psychological Medicine, Australian National University Medical School, Canberra Hospital, Canberra, Australia.
Neuroimage. 2010 Jul 1;51(3):970-86. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.02.017. Epub 2010 Feb 13.
Frontostriatal circuit mediated cognitive dysfunction has been implicated in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), but not Alzheimer's disease, or healthy aging. We measured the neostriatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) volume in FTLD (n=34), in comparison with controls (n=27) and Alzheimer's disease (AD, n=19) subjects.
Diagnoses were based on international consensus criteria. Manual bilateral segmentation of the caudate nucleus and putamen was conducted blind to diagnosis by a single analyst, on MRI scans using a standardized protocol. Intra-cranial volume was calculated via a stereological point counting technique and was used for scaling the shape analysis. The manual segmentation binaries were analyzed using UNC Shape Analysis tools (University of North Carolina) to perform comparisons among FTLD, AD, and controls for global shape, local p-value significance maps, and mean magnitude of shape displacement.
Shape analysis revealed that there was significant shape difference between FTLD, AD, and controls, consistent with the predicted frontostriatal dysfunction and of significant magnitude, as measured by displacement maps. There was a lateralized difference in shape for the left caudate for FTLD compared to AD; non-specific global atrophy in AD compared to controls; while FTLD showed a more specific pattern in regions relaying fronto- and corticostriatal circuits.
Shape analysis shows regional specificity of atrophy, manifest as shape deflation, with implications for frontostriatal and corticostriatal motoric circuits, in FTLD, AD, and controls.
额皮质纹状体回路介导的认知功能障碍与额颞叶变性（FTLD）有关，但与阿尔茨海默病或健康衰老无关。我们测量了 FTLD（n=34）、对照组（n=27）和阿尔茨海默病（AD，n=19）患者的新纹状体（尾状核和壳核）体积。
根据国际共识标准进行诊断。由一名分析员在不了解诊断的情况下，对 MRI 扫描进行双侧尾状核和壳核手动分割，使用标准化协议。通过立体学点计数技术计算颅内体积，并用于对形状分析进行缩放。使用 UNC 形状分析工具（北卡罗来纳大学）分析手动分割二进制文件，以在 FTLD、AD 和对照组之间进行全局形状、局部 p 值显著性图和形状位移的平均幅度比较。
形状分析显示，FTLD、AD 和对照组之间存在显著的形状差异，与预测的额皮质纹状体功能障碍一致，并且位移图的测量结果具有显著的幅度。与 AD 相比，FTLD 的左侧尾状核形状存在偏侧性差异；与对照组相比，AD 存在非特异性的全局萎缩；而 FTLD 则显示出与额皮质和皮质纹状体回路相关的更特定的区域萎缩模式。
形状分析显示出萎缩的区域特异性，表现为形状瘪缩，对 FTLD、AD 和对照组的额皮质纹状体和皮质纹状体运动回路具有重要意义。
