Sim Yongsik, Seo Changmin, Lee Young-Gun, Ye Byoung Seok, Lyu Ilwoo, Sohn Beomseok
Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2025 Aug 12;17:1635861. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1635861. eCollection 2025.
To investigate the correlation between cortical thickness (CT), sulcal depth (SD), local gyrification index (LGI), and cognitive scores in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
A total of 200 patients with AD from 2014 to 2021 were included, confirmed by 18F-florbetaben-positron emission tomography, and having a Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0.5 or 1. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and cognitive function was assessed through the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB)-II, with specific -scores used for multiple divisional cognitive functions. CT, SD, and LGI were extracted from the 3D T1-weighted images acquired with 3-T MRI scanners. General linear models were used to examine associations between cortical features and cognitive scores, controlling for age, sex, and years of education. Cluster-level significance was determined using a family-wise error (FWE)-corrected threshold of < 0.05, with a cluster-forming height threshold of uncorrected < 0.01.
The analysis included patients with a mean age of 73.7 years and an average MMSE score of 23.8. The cortical shape features of multiple brain regions showed significant correlations with the MMSE score after adjusting for age, sex, and years of education. Among those, SD and LGI in the parahippocampal and fusiform gyri had positive correlations with MMSE. For executive function, SD showed correlations in the left inferior frontal and orbitofrontal gyrus. Regarding language function, CT was associated with regions such as the superior temporal gyrus, while SD demonstrated correlations with the left supramarginal gyrus.
The results indicate that certain changes in cortical shape features are associated with particular cognitive function scores. Surface-based morphometric features of SD and LGI provided complementary results to CT analyses. Region-specific changes in SD and LGI could be useful imaging markers to predict cognitive decline in AD patients.
研究阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者的皮质厚度（CT）、脑沟深度（SD）、局部脑回指数（LGI）与认知评分之间的相关性。
纳入2014年至2021年的200例AD患者，经18F-氟比他班正电子发射断层扫描确诊，临床痴呆评定量表评分为0.5或1。收集人口统计学和临床数据，通过简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）和首尔神经心理筛查量表第二版（SNSB-II）评估认知功能，使用特定分数评估多种分类认知功能。从3-T MRI扫描仪获取的3D T1加权图像中提取CT、SD和LGI。使用一般线性模型检查皮质特征与认知评分之间的关联，同时控制年龄、性别和受教育年限。使用经家族性错误（FWE）校正的阈值<0.05确定簇水平的显著性，未校正的簇形成高度阈值<0.01。
分析纳入的患者平均年龄为73.7岁，平均MMSE评分为23.8。在调整年龄、性别和受教育年限后，多个脑区的皮质形状特征与MMSE评分显示出显著相关性。其中，海马旁回和梭状回的SD和LGI与MMSE呈正相关。对于执行功能，SD与左额下回和眶额回相关。关于语言功能，CT与颞上回等区域相关，而SD与左缘上回相关。
结果表明，皮质形状特征的某些变化与特定的认知功能评分相关。SD和LGI基于表面的形态计量学特征为CT分析提供了补充结果。SD和LGI的区域特异性变化可能是预测AD患者认知衰退的有用影像学标志物。
