Amygdalar and hippocampal MRI volumetric reductions in Parkinson's disease with dementia

• Published in: Movement disorders Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 540 - 544
• Main Authors: Junqué, Carme, Ramírez-Ruiz, Blanca, Tolosa, Eduardo, Summerfield, Christopher, Martí, María-José, Pastor, Pau, Gómez-Ansón, Beatriz, Mercader, José Ma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.05.2005; Wiley
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; amygdala; Amygdala - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; dementia; Dementia - complications; Dementia - diagnosis; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; hippocampus; Hippocampus - pathology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; MRI volumetry; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease - complications; Parkinson Disease - diagnosis; Parkinson's disease; Severity of Illness Index; Nervous system diseases; Parkinson's disease; Amygdala; Central nervous system; Parkinson disease; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Cerebral disorder; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Hippocampus; Extrapyramidal syndrome; Dementia; MRI volumetry
• ISSN: 0885-3185; 1531-8257
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.20371

Parkinson's disease (PD) involves neuropathological changes in the limbic system that lead to neuronal loss and volumetric reductions of several nuclei. We investigated possible volumetric reductions of the amygdala and hippocampus associated to PD. We carried out magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetric studies in 16 patients with PD and dementia (PDD), 16 patients with PD without dementia (PD), and 16 healthy subjects. The general analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant group effect (for the amygdala, P = 0.01; for the hippocampus, P = 0.005). A post‐hoc test demonstrated that the differences were due to PDD and control group comparisons for the amygdala (P = 0.008) and for the hippocampus (P = 0.004). In nondemented PD subjects, we observed an 11% reduction in the amygdala and a 10% reduction in the hippocampus compared with that in controls. In summary, demented PD patients have clear amygdalar and hippocampal atrophy that remains statistically significant after controlling for global cerebral atrophy. Nondemented PD patients also showed a degree of volumetric reduction in these structures although the differences were not statistically significant. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society