Noh Daji, Choi Sooyoung, Choi Hojung, Lee Youngwon, Lee Kija
College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Korea.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Korea.
Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2017 Sep;58(5):581-587. doi: 10.1111/vru.12528. Epub 2017 Jul 13.
Interthalamic adhesion thickness has been previously described as a parameter for quantifying canine brain atrophy and hypothesized to correlate with brain height or ventricular size. However, studies testing this hypothesis are lacking. This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to compare interthalamic adhesion thickness, interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio, and interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio/lateral ventricle to brain height ratio values in dogs with and without cognitive dysfunction. Medical records for dogs meeting the following inclusion criteria were retrieved from two hospitals: available brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) studies, no cerebral parenchymal lesions, and no prior neurological treatment. For each included dog, values of interthalamic adhesion thickness, interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio, and interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio/lateral ventricle to brain height ratio were measured by one observer from transverse CT or MRI images and a consensus was reached. A total of 113 dogs met inclusion criteria. Dogs were divided into three groups based on the following criteria: Young group (no cognitive dysfunction, <9-year-old, n = 43), Aging group (no cognitive dysfunction, ≥9-year-old, n = 61), and Dementia group (n = 9). All three parameters were significantly lower in the dementia group than in the Young and Aging groups. In the Young and Aging groups, there was significant negative correlation of all three parameters with age and positive correlation of interthalamic adhesion thickness and interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio/lateral ventricle to brain height ratio with body weight, while there was no correlation of interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio with body weight (P < 0.05). There were no differences in all three parameters according to skull type or gender. Findings from the current study supported the use of interthalamic adhesion thickness, interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio, and interthalamic adhesion thickness/brain height ratio/lateral ventricle to brain height ratio for quantifying brain atrophy in dogs with cognitive dysfunction.
丘脑间黏合厚度此前已被描述为量化犬脑萎缩的一个参数，并被假设与脑高度或脑室大小相关。然而，缺乏检验这一假设的研究。这项回顾性横断面研究旨在比较有和没有认知功能障碍的犬的丘脑间黏合厚度、丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值以及丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值/侧脑室与脑高度比值。从两家医院检索了符合以下纳入标准的犬的病历：有可用的脑磁共振成像（MRI）或计算机断层扫描（CT）研究、无脑实质病变且无既往神经治疗史。对于每只纳入的犬，由一名观察者从横向CT或MRI图像测量丘脑间黏合厚度、丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值以及丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值/侧脑室与脑高度比值，并达成共识。共有113只犬符合纳入标准。根据以下标准将犬分为三组：年轻组（无认知功能障碍，<9岁，n = 43）、老龄组（无认知功能障碍，≥9岁，n = 61）和痴呆组（n = 9）。痴呆组的所有三个参数均显著低于年轻组和老龄组。在年轻组和老龄组中，所有三个参数与年龄均呈显著负相关，丘脑间黏合厚度以及丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值/侧脑室与脑高度比值与体重呈正相关，而丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值与体重无相关性（P < 0.05）。根据颅骨类型或性别，所有三个参数均无差异。本研究结果支持使用丘脑间黏合厚度、丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值以及丘脑间黏合厚度/脑高度比值/侧脑室与脑高度比值来量化有认知功能障碍的犬的脑萎缩。
