Among those in whom these signature brain areas were the thinnest, 55 percent developed dementia during the study period, compared with 20 percent of those with average cortical thickness and none of those in whom cortical thickness was above average. Participants with the thinnest cortical areas also developed Alzheimer's significantly faster than those with average thickness.
"Comparing the data from the Chicago and Boston sites showed very similar results," said deToledo-Morrell. "Pulling together the data from both sites makes the findings that much stronger."
Ad Statistics
Times Displayed: 22281
Times Visited: 445 Stay up to date with the latest training to fix, troubleshoot, and maintain your critical care devices. GE HealthCare offers multiple training formats to empower teams and expand knowledge, saving you time and money
Adds Dickerson, who is an associate professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, "We believe these MR measurements can be powerful markers of the pattern of brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease and are investigating their use in several ways, including assessing dementia risk in asymptomatic individuals. Our current results are preliminary and are not ready to be applied outside of research studies, but we are optimistic that this marker will be useful in guiding clinical care in the future."
Additional co-authors of the Neurology study - which was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association - are Travis Stoub, PhD, and Dr. Raj Shah, Rush University Medical Center; Dr. Bradley Hyman and Dr. Deborah Blacker, MGH; Dr. Reisa Sperling, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Ronald Killiany, PhD, Boston University School of Medicine; and Marilyn Albert, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
About Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, is an academic medical center that includes a 676-bed hospital serving adults and children. Rush University includes Rush Medical College, the College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College. Rush is a thriving center for basic and clinical research, with physicians and scientists involved in hundreds of research projects developing and testing the effectiveness and safety of new therapies and medical devices.
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of nearly $700 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, reproductive biology, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
Back to HCB News
