Rosie Watson1, Sean J Colloby2, Andrew M Blamire3, Keith A Wesnes4, Josh Wood5, John T O'Brien6. 1. The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and The Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. 2. Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK. Electronic address: sean.colloby@ncl.ac.uk. 3. Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK. 4. Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Wesnes Cognition Ltd, Streatley on Thames, RG8 9RD, UK; Medical School, University of Exeter, UK; Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia; Medicinal Plant Research Group, Newcastle University, UK. 5. Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK. 6. Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QC, UK.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of DLB subjects who died within 1 year of assessment compared to those who survived and investigate their patterns of in vivo regional thalamic atrophy using structural MRI. METHODS: Seventy subjects (35 DLB, 35 aged controls) underwent 3 T T1-weighted MR scanning as well as clinical and cognitive assessments, including a computerised assessment of attention. All subjects were contacted after 12 months for reassessment. For both hemispheres, using FSL FIRST, the thalamus was automatically segmented followed by inter-subject vertex-wise analyses involving group comparisons and behavioural correlates. RESULTS: There was significant bilateral atrophy in the ventral-dorsal and pulvinar regions in DLB relative to controls (pcorrected < 0.05). The DLB group was then re-categorised based on 12-month mortality data: DLB-a (n = 26) and DLB-d (n = 9) (a = alive, d = death within 12 months of study assessment). Compared to controls, significant attentional dysfunction and bilateral atrophy of the pulvinar, ventral and dorsal nuclei were observed in DLB-d (pcorrected < 0.05), whereas in DLB-a, atrophy was far less extensive. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct patterns of thalamic atrophy occur in DLB that may relate to the attentional dysfunction and cognitive fluctuations that characterise this disorder. Relative to controls, the extent of attentional impairment and pattern of thalamic degeneration differ in those patients who died within 12 months of assessment, despite having an otherwise similar level of dementia severity. These findings may provide insight into the neurobiological changes underpinning important clinical characteristics and disease heterogeneity.
INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of DLB subjects who died within 1 year of assessment compared to those who survived and investigate their patterns of in vivo regional thalamic atrophy using structural MRI. METHODS: Seventy subjects (35 DLB, 35 aged controls) underwent 3 T T1-weighted MR scanning as well as clinical and cognitive assessments, including a computerised assessment of attention. All subjects were contacted after 12 months for reassessment. For both hemispheres, using FSL FIRST, the thalamus was automatically segmented followed by inter-subject vertex-wise analyses involving group comparisons and behavioural correlates. RESULTS: There was significant bilateral atrophy in the ventral-dorsal and pulvinar regions in DLB relative to controls (pcorrected < 0.05). The DLB group was then re-categorised based on 12-month mortality data: DLB-a (n = 26) and DLB-d (n = 9) (a = alive, d = death within 12 months of study assessment). Compared to controls, significant attentional dysfunction and bilateral atrophy of the pulvinar, ventral and dorsal nuclei were observed in DLB-d (pcorrected < 0.05), whereas in DLB-a, atrophy was far less extensive. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct patterns of thalamic atrophy occur in DLB that may relate to the attentional dysfunction and cognitive fluctuations that characterise this disorder. Relative to controls, the extent of attentional impairment and pattern of thalamic degeneration differ in those patients who died within 12 months of assessment, despite having an otherwise similar level of dementia severity. These findings may provide insight into the neurobiological changes underpinning important clinical characteristics and disease heterogeneity.
Authors: Julia Schumacher; Luis R Peraza; Michael Firbank; Alan J Thomas; Marcus Kaiser; Peter Gallagher; John T O'Brien; Andrew M Blamire; John-Paul Taylor Journal: Brain Date: 2019-06-01 Impact factor: 13.501
Authors: Anne Botzung; Nathalie Philippi; Vincent Noblet; Paulo Loureiro de Sousa; Frédéric Blanc Journal: Alzheimers Res Ther Date: 2019-12-21 Impact factor: 6.982