Neuropsychiatric correlates of white matter hyperintensities in Alzheimer's disease

• Published in: International journal of geriatric psychiatry Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 780 - 788
• Main Authors: Berlow, Yosef A., Wells, William M., Ellison, James M., Sung, Young Hoon, Renshaw, Perry F., Harper, David G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.08.2010; Psychology Press; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis of Variance; Anxiety; Atrophy; behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain - pathology; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; Correlation analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dementia disorders; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geriatric psychiatry; Geriatric psychology; Geriatrics; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - pathology; Hospitals; Humans; Inventories; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Memory; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuropsychiatric Inventory; Neuropsychological Tests; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Psychoanalysis; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Retrospective Studies; Substantia alba; white matter hyperintensities; magnetic resonance imaging; Questionnaire; Neuropsychiatric Inventory; Alzheimer disease; Behavioral disorder; Degenerative disease; Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia; Alzheimer's disease; Hyperintensity; Human; Nervous system diseases; white matter hyperintensities; Psychometrics; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; White matter; Cerebral disorder; Senile dementia; behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; Gerontology; Central nervous system disease; Mental disorder; Medical imagery; Elderly; Psychiatry; Inventory; Geriatrics
• ISSN: 0885-6230; 1099-1166; 1099-1166
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.2418

Objective To investigate the association of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Methods Thirty‐seven patients with probable AD received the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), and an MRI scan as part of their initial evaluation at the Outpatient Memory Diagnostic Clinic at McLean Hospital. MRI‐based volumetric measurements of whole brain atrophy, hippocampal volumes, and WMH were obtained. Analysis of covariance models, using age as a covariate and the presence of specific BPSD as independent variables, were used to test for differences in whole brain volumes, hippocampal volumes and WMH volumes. Results Increased WMH were associated with symptoms of anxiety, aberrant motor behavior, and night time disturbance, while symptoms of disinhibition were linked to lower WMH volume. No associations were found for whole brain or hippocampal volumes and BPSD. Conclusions These findings suggest that white matter changes are associated with the presence of BPSD in AD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.