Laboratoire Angevin de Recherche en Ingénierie Des Systèmes, EA7315, University of Angers, Angers, France.
Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2022 Feb;16(1):228-238. doi: 10.1007/s11682-021-00496-7. Epub 2021 Aug 2.
Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) present gait disturbances including slower speed and higher variability when compared to cognitively healthy individuals (CHI). Brain neuroimaging could explore higher levels of motor control. Our purpose was to look for an association between morphometrics and gait parameters in each group. We hypothesized that the relation between morphological cerebral alteration and gait speed are different following the group.
Fifty-three participants (30 with aMCI and 23 CHI) were recruited in this French cross-sectional study (mean 72 ± 5 years, 38% female). Gait speed and gait variability (coefficients of variation of stride time (STV) and stride length (SLV)) were measured using GAITrite® system. CAT12 software was used to analyse volume and surface morphometry like gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT). Age, gender and education level were used as potential cofounders.
aMCI had slower gait speed and higher STV when compared to CHI. In aMCI the full adjusted linear regression model showed that lower gait speed was associated with decreased GMV and lower CT in bilateral superior temporal gyri (p < 0.36). In CHI, no association was found between gait speed and brain structure. Higher SLV was correlated with reduced GMV in spread regions (p < 0.05) and thinner cortex in the middle right frontal gyrus (p = 0.001) in aMCI. In CHI, higher SLV was associated with reduced GMV in 1 cluster: the left lingual (p = 0.041).
These findings indicate that lower gait speed is associated with specific brain structural changes as reduced GMV and CT during aMCI.
与认知健康个体（CHI）相比，遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）患者存在步态障碍，包括速度较慢和变异性较高。脑神经影像学可以探索更高水平的运动控制。我们的目的是寻找每组形态计量学与步态参数之间的关联。我们假设形态学大脑改变与步态速度之间的关系因组而异。
这项法国横断面研究招募了 53 名参与者（30 名 aMCI 和 23 名 CHI）（平均年龄 72±5 岁，38%为女性）。使用 GAITrite®系统测量步态速度和步态变异性（步长时间（STV）和步长变异系数（SLV））。CAT12 软件用于分析体积和表面形态计量学，如灰质体积（GMV）和皮质厚度（CT）。年龄、性别和教育水平用作潜在的混杂因素。
与 CHI 相比，aMCI 的步态速度较慢，STV 较高。在 aMCI 中，全调整线性回归模型显示，较低的步态速度与双侧颞上回 GMV 降低和 CT 降低相关（p<0.36）。在 CHI 中，步态速度与大脑结构之间没有关联。较高的 SLV 与 aMCI 中广泛区域 GMV 减少（p<0.05）和中右额回皮质变薄（p=0.001）相关。在 CHI 中，较高的 SLV 与左舌回 GMV 减少有关（p=0.041）。
这些发现表明，在 aMCI 中，较低的步态速度与特定的大脑结构变化有关，如 GMV 和 CT 减少。
