Association of white-matter lesions with brain atrophy markers: The three-city Dijon MRI study

Ophélia Godin, Pauline Maillard, Fabrice Crivello, Annick Alpérovitch, Bernard Mazoyer, Christophe Tzourio, Carole Dufouil
Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009-01-01; 28(2): 177-184
DOI: 10.1159/000226117

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1. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009;28(2):177-84. doi: 10.1159/000226117. Epub 2009 Jun 25.

Association of white-matter lesions with brain atrophy markers: the three-city
Dijon MRI study.

Godin O(1), Maillard P, Crivello F, Alpérovitch A, Mazoyer B, Tzourio C, Dufouil
C.

Author information:
(1)Inserm U708 ‘Neuroepidemiology’, Paris, France.

BACKGROUND: Brain atrophy and white-matter lesions (WML) are common features at
cerebral MRI of both normal and demented elderly people. In a population-based
study of 1,792 elderly subjects aged 65-80 years, free of dementia, who had a
cerebral MRI at entry, we investigated the relationship between WML volume and
brain atrophy markers estimated by hippocampal, gray matter (GM) and
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes.
METHODS: An automated algorithm of detection and quantification of WML was
developed, and voxel-based morphometry methods were used to estimate GM, CSF and
hippocampal volumes. To evaluate the relation between those volumes and WML load,
we used analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression models adjusting
for potential confounders and total intracranial volumes.
RESULTS: Age was highly correlated with WML load and all brain atrophy markers.
Total WML volume was negatively associated with both GM (beta = -0.03, p <
0.0001) and hippocampal volumes (beta = -0.75, p = 0.0009) and positively with
CSF volumes (beta = 0.008, p = 0.02) after controlling for sex, age, education
level, hypertension and apolipoprotein E genotype. Evidence for a relationship
between brain atrophy markers and WML was stronger for periventricular WML. We
found that the relationship between WML and hippocampal volumes was independent
of other brain tissue volumes.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that, in the brain of nondemented elderly
subjects, degenerative processes and vascular changes co-occur and are related
independently of vascular risk factors.

2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

DOI: 10.1159/000226117
PMID: 19556771 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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