Janowsky J S, Kaye J A, Carper R A
Department of Neurology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201-3098, USA.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1996 Jul;44(7):798-803. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1996.tb03736.x.
To investigate the specificity of atrophic changes in the corpus callosum (CC) compared with the cerebellum and pons in patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD), healthy elderly subjects (HE), and a sample of prospectively studied subjects who have developed cognitive decline or "incipient dementia" (ID).
Cross-sectional comparison by age using quantitative MRI.
Ambulatory research unit.
Sixty HE subjects (mean age 78.2 years; range 66-95), 20 ID subjects (mean age 88.1 years; range 78-98) and 39 AD subjects (mean age 72.2 years; range 52-91) were enrolled in longitudinal studies of healthy aging or AD. The population was selected for optimal health; all were examined to exclude medical, neurological and psychiatric illness.
Brain atrophy by quantitative MRI.
AD subjects had smaller CC than HE or ID subjects, who did not differ from each other. All three sectors of the CC were smaller in AD than in HE or ID subjects. The cross sectional area of the cerebellum and pons did not differ between groups. HE and ID subjects showed a significant decline in CC size with age. No age-related decline was found for AD subjects. The regional atrophy of the CC in AD subjects was significantly related to cognitive function but not to disease duration.
Atrophy of the CC differentiates HE and ID from AD subjects and tracks the cognitive decline of this disease. In addition, optimally healthy subjects show an age-related decline in callosum size. The atrophy is specific to the CC, a cortical projection system, and does not occur in cerebellum or pons.
研究阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者、健康老年人（HE）以及一组前瞻性研究中出现认知功能下降或“早期痴呆”（ID）的受试者，胼胝体（CC）萎缩变化相较于小脑和脑桥的特异性。
采用定量MRI按年龄进行横断面比较。
门诊研究单位。
60名健康老年人（平均年龄78.2岁；范围66 - 95岁）、20名早期痴呆受试者（平均年龄88.1岁；范围78 - 98岁）和39名AD患者（平均年龄72.2岁；范围52 - 91岁）纳入了健康老龄化或AD的纵向研究。入选人群均为健康状况最佳者；所有人都经过检查以排除医学、神经和精神疾病。
通过定量MRI测量脑萎缩情况。
AD患者的CC小于健康老年人或早期痴呆受试者，而后两者之间无差异。AD患者CC的所有三个部分均小于健康老年人或早期痴呆受试者。小脑和脑桥的横截面积在各组之间无差异。健康老年人和早期痴呆受试者的CC大小随年龄显著下降。AD患者未发现与年龄相关的下降。AD患者CC的区域萎缩与认知功能显著相关，但与疾病持续时间无关。
CC萎缩可区分健康老年人和早期痴呆受试者与AD患者，并追踪该疾病的认知功能下降情况。此外，健康状况最佳的受试者显示胼胝体大小随年龄下降。这种萎缩是CC（一种皮质投射系统）特有的，在小脑或脑桥中未出现。
