Hippocampal hypometabolism predicts cognitive decline from normal aging. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study used FDG-PET imaging to predict and monitor cognitive decline from normal aging. METHODS: Seventy-seven 50-80-year-old normal (NL) elderly received longitudinal clinical examinations over 6-14 years (561 person-years, mean per person 7.2 years). All subjects had a baseline FDG-PET scan and 55 subjects received follow-up PET exams. Glucose metabolic rates (MRglc) in the hippocampus and cortical regions were examined as predictors and correlates of clinical decline. RESULTS: Eleven NL subjects developed dementia, including six with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 19 declined to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), on average 8 years after the baseline exam. The baseline hippocampal MRglc predicted decline from NL to AD (81% accuracy), including two post-mortem confirmed cases, from NL to other dementias (77% accuracy), and from NL to MCI (71% accuracy). Greater rates of hippocampal and cortical MRglc reductions were found in the declining as compared to the non-declining NL. CONCLUSIONS: Hippocampal MRglc reductions using FDG-PET during normal aging predict cognitive decline years in advance of the clinical diagnosis. Future studies are needed to increase preclinical specificity in differentiating dementing disorders.

publication date

  • January 11, 2007

Research

keywords

  • Aging
  • Cognition Disorders
  • Dementia
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Glucose
  • Glucose Metabolism Disorders
  • Hippocampus

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC2430185

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 38149006292

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.12.008

PubMed ID

  • 17222480

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 29

issue

  • 5