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Hippocampal Atrophy Correlates With Clinical Features of Alzheimer Disease in African Americans
Drahomira Sencakova, MD;
Neill R. Graff-Radford, MD;
Floyd B. Willis, MD;
John A. Lucas, PhD;
Francine Parfitt, MS;
Ruth H. Cha, MS;
Peter C. O'Brien, PhD;
Ronald C. Petersen, MD, PhD;
Clifford R. Jack, Jr, MD
Arch Neurol. 2001;58:1593-1597.
Context Imaging measurements may aid in the characterization and diagnosis of
patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Most research studies, however, have
been performed on predominantly white study groups despite the fact that there
may be biological differences in AD between African American and white patients.
Objective To measure hippocampal volume in African American patients with AD and
to correlate these measurements with the presence of AD and neuropsychological
test performance.
Design Survey study.
Setting Academic center.
Participants Fifty-four healthy African American subjects and 32 African American
patients with AD were studied. Hippocampal volumes were measured in all subjects
from magnetic resonance images using established methods.
Main Outcome Measure Correlations were assessed between hippocampal volume and demographic
variables, clinical group membership, and neuropsychological performance.
Results The hippocampi of patients were atrophic with respect to those of healthy
subjects (P<.01). Significant direct correlations
were present between hippocampal volumes and performance on several different
neuropsychological tests (r>0.5 and P<.01 for every test evaluated) when patients and healthy subjects
were combined.
Conclusions Hippocampal atrophy is a feature of AD in African Americans as it is
in white subjects. The neuropsychological–hippocampal volume correlations
indicate that hippocampal volume measurements do represent a measure of the
structural substrate of functional impairment in AD.
From the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology (Drs Sencakova and Jack),
Neurology (Dr Petersen), and Health Sciences Research (Ms Cha and Dr O'Brien),
Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minn; and the Departments of Neurology
(Dr Graff-Radford and Ms Parfitt), Family Medicine (Dr Willis), and Psychiatry
and Psychology (Dr Lucas), Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Fla.
Corresponding author: Neill R. Graff-Radford, MD, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville,
4500 San Pablo Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32224 (e-mail: graffradford.neill{at}mayo.edu).
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