Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Stratenum 6.131, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Department of Geriatrics, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2019 Aug;13(4):1093-1102. doi: 10.1007/s11682-018-9916-y.
Hippocampal sulcal cavities (HSCs) are frequently observed on MRI, but their etiology and relevance is unclear. HSCs may be anatomical variations, or result from pathology. We assessed the presence of HSCs, and their cross-sectional association with demographics, vascular risk factors and cognitive functioning in two study samples. Within a random sample of 92 patients with vascular disease from the SMART-Medea study (mean age = 62, SD = 9 years) and 83 primary care patients from the PREDICT-MR study (mean age = 62, SD = 12 years) one rater manually scored HSCs at 1.5 T 3D T1-weighted coronal images blind to patient information. We estimated relative risks of age, sex and vascular risk factors with presence of HSCs using Poisson regression with log-link function and robust standard errors adjusted for age and sex. Using ANCOVA adjusted for age, sex, and education we estimated the association of the number of HSCs with memory, executive functioning, speed, and working memory. In the SMART-Medea study HSCs were present in 65% and in 52% in the PREDICT-MR study (χ = 2.99, df = 1, p = 0.08). In both samples, no significant associations were observed between presence of HSCs and age (SMART-Medea: RR = 1.00; 95%CI 0.98-1.01; PREDICT-MR: RR = 1.01; 95%CI 0.99-1.03), sex, or vascular risk factors. Also, no associations between HSCs and cognitive functioning were found in either sample. HSCs are frequently observed on 1.5 T MRI. Our findings suggest that, in patients with a history of vascular disease and primary care attendees, HSCs are part of normal anatomic variation of the human hippocampus rather than markers of pathology.
海马沟裂（HSCs）在 MRI 上经常被观察到，但它们的病因和相关性尚不清楚。HSCs 可能是解剖学上的变异，也可能是由病理学引起的。我们评估了 HSCs 在两个研究样本中的存在情况，以及它们与人口统计学、血管危险因素和认知功能的横断面相关性。在 SMART-Medea 研究中的 92 例血管疾病患者（平均年龄=62 岁，标准差=9 岁）和 PREDICT-MR 研究中的 83 例初级保健患者（平均年龄=62 岁，标准差=12 岁）的随机样本中，一位评分者在 1.5 T 3D T1 加权冠状图像上对 HSCs 进行了手动评分，对患者信息盲法进行评分。我们使用泊松回归模型（对数链接函数）和稳健标准误差，对年龄和性别进行了调整，估计了年龄、性别和血管危险因素与 HSCs 存在的相对风险。使用调整年龄、性别和教育的协方差分析（ANCOVA），我们估计了 HSCs 数量与记忆、执行功能、速度和工作记忆的相关性。在 SMART-Medea 研究中，HSCs 存在于 65%的患者中，在 PREDICT-MR 研究中存在于 52%的患者中（χ²=2.99，df=1，p=0.08）。在两个样本中，HSCs 的存在与年龄（SMART-Medea：RR=1.00；95%CI 0.98-1.01；PREDICT-MR：RR=1.01；95%CI 0.99-1.03）、性别或血管危险因素之间均无显著相关性。此外，在两个样本中，HSCs 与认知功能之间也没有相关性。在 1.5 T MRI 上经常观察到 HSCs。我们的研究结果表明，在有血管疾病病史的患者和初级保健就诊者中，HSCs 是人类海马体正常解剖变异的一部分，而不是病理学的标志物。
