Could Brain Volume Help Differentiate Alzheimer Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies?

Measuring a patient’s brain volume could help to identify those with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) earlier and allow for earlier interventions, according to a recent study.

In order to evaluate whether brain volume could assist in the identification of DLB in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and possible Alzheimer disease (AD), researchers assessed data from 160 patients from the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center who had an MRI scan at the start of the study and an average of 2 or more annual scans. During the study period, 38% of participants developed AD and 13% developed probable DLB.
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The researchers analyzed the patients’ hippocampal volume, finding that 17 of the 20 participants who developed DLB had normal hippocampus volumes, while 37 of the 61 participants who developed Alzheimer disease showed shrinkage of the hippocampus.

“Preserved hippocampal volumes are associated with increased risk of probable DLB competing with AD dementia in patients with [mild cognitive impairment]. Preservation of HV may support prodromal DLB over AD, particularly in patients with [mild cognitive impairment] with nonamnestic features,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Kantarci K, Lesnick T, Ferman TJ, et al. Hippocampal volumes predict risk of dementia with Lewy bodies in mild cognitive impairment [published online November 2, 2016]. Neurology. doi: http:/​/​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1212/​WNL.​0000000000003371.