Associations of olfactory bulb and depth of olfactory sulcus with basal ganglia and hippocampus in patients with Parkinson’s disease

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 620; pp. 111 - 114
• Main Authors: Tanik, Nermin, Serin, Halil Ibrahim, Celikbilek, Asuman, Inan, Levent Ertugrul, Gundogdu, Fatma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 04.05.2016
• Subjects: Aged; Basal Ganglia - pathology; Case-Control Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - pathology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Olfactory bulb; Olfactory Bulb - pathology; Olfactory sulcus depth; Organ Size; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Parkinson’s disease; Prefrontal Cortex - pathology; Prospective Studies; Putamen; Olfactory bulb; Putamen; Parkinson’s disease; Hippocampus; Olfactory sulcus depth
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.03.050

•The olfactory bulb (OB) and olfactory sulcus depth (OSD) were significantly atrophic in patients with PD.•Significant correlations between the right OB volume and the left putamen, and between the right OSD and the right hippocampal volume.•Our study is the first to demonstrate associations of olfactory structures with the putamen and hippocampus using MRI volumetric measurements. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by hyposmia in the preclinical stages. We investigated the relationships of olfactory bulb (OB) volume and olfactory sulcus (OS) depth with basal ganglia and hippocampal volumes. The study included 25 patients with PD and 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Idiopathic PD was diagnosed according to published diagnostic criteria. The Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale, the motor subscale of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS III), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were administered to participants. Volumetric measurements of olfactory structures, the basal ganglia, and hippocampus were performed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). OB volume and OS depth were significantly reduced in PD patients compared to healthy control subjects (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The OB and left putamen volumes were significantly correlated (p=0.048), and the depth of the right OS was significantly correlated with right hippocampal volume (p=0.018). We found significant correlations between OB and putamen volumes and OS depth and hippocampal volume. Our study is the first to demonstrate associations of olfactory structures with the putamen and hippocampus using MRI volumetric measurements.