Hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease: A 3-year follow-up MRI study

Background: Due to the progressive nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), it h as been proposed that serial imaging studies tracking the course of progres sion might improve the diagnostic accuracy of AD. Methods: Longitudinal changes in hippocampal volumes were evaluated using m agnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a period of 3 years in 27 AD patients and 8 control subjects. Results: A statistically nonsignificant trend towards accelerated volume lo ss in the AD group compared to control subjects was observed During the stu dy period, the average shrinkage of the hippocampal volume ranged from -2.2 % to -5.8% in control subjects, and from -2.3% to -15.6% in AD patients. Conclusions: The observed changes at an individual level were small, and wi thin the accuracy range of the measurements. Therefore, serial MRI of the h ippocampus did not offer any advantage over a single MRI to support the dia gnosis of AD in this study sample. (C) 2000 Society of Biological Psychiatr y.