Comparison of regional gray matter volume abnormalities in Alzheimer׳s disease and late life depression with hippocampal atrophy using VSRAD analysis: A voxel-based morphometry study

Abstract

Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies revealed that hippocampal volume loss in patients with late life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive impairment and a higher risk for dementia. However, LLD patients can experience hippocampal atrophy without cognitive impairment. Thus, while LLD and AD can show comparable hippocampal atrophy, they may encompass different neuropathological changes. Using VBM, we therefore investigated differences in regional gray matter changes in 17 late-onset LLD patients and 21 AD patients (without a history of LLD) who exhibited comparably severe atrophy of the entorhinal cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus on MRI scans for voxel-based specific regional analysis system for AD (VSRAD). Relative to the VSRAD database for healthy individuals, significant atrophy was observed in mesial temporal lobe structures and the anterior cingulate cortex in both groups. Atrophy of the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus was observed only in the AD group. Comparisons of gray matter volume by multivariate analysis of variance revealed significantly reduced volume of the right middle and inferior temporal gyrus, uncus, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus in the AD group only, suggesting impairment of different networks in AD and LLD. Indeed, structural changes in the posterior part of the default-mode network are believed to be associated with cognitive impairments specific to AD.

Regional brain volume reductions in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder: An analysis by voxel‐based morphometry

“…Moreover, because autonomic symptoms are more prominent than depressed mood or decreased motivation, the patients tend to be misdiagnosed as having a physical disease rather than MDD. Assessment of the existence of volume reduction in the three brain regions, ie, the hippocampus, sgACC, and SCA, by VBM using SPM8 and DARTEL, as in this study, provides clues to whether the patient may have dementia, MDD, or dementia plus MDD; that is, it is useful for the differential diagnosis of these conditions and for predicting the prognosis and responsiveness to drugs …”

“…Assessment of the existence of volume reduction in the three brain regions, ie, the hippocampus, sgACC, and SCA, by VBM using SPM8 and DARTEL, as in this study, provides clues to whether the patient may have dementia, MDD, or dementia plus MDD; that is, it is useful for the differential diagnosis of these conditions and for predicting the prognosis and responsiveness to drugs. [33][34][35][36][37][38] We are aware that this study has several limitations. First, it was conducted with participants aged 54 to 80 years.…”

Polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease influences precuneal volume in two independent general populations

“…In addition, they could not tell us at what age the influences of the AD PGRS on the entire brain structure initially manifest. The current study used a hypothesis-free VBM analysis, which has been widely used to detect structural atrophy in individuals with AD (Shimoda et al, 2015;Whitwell et al, 2008), to estimate the effect of the AD PGRS on voxel-wise anatomical differences by exploring the whole brain. Using this data-driven approach, we showed that the AD PGRS seems to have influenced the volume of several cortical structures that had not been reported in previous ROI studies.…”

Differentiating between Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Patients with Major Depressive Disorder Using the Voxel-based Specific Regional Aanalysis System for Alzheimer's Disease

“…It should be noted that previous VBM studies indicate that there is a correlation between AD and late-life depression [16,17]. Recent VSRAD studies indicate that unlike AD, patients with late-life depression show no evidence of atrophy in the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex [18]. These findings suggest that changes in the more posterior parts of the brain may be more likely to be observed in AD.…”