Evaluation and Estimation of gray matter volume using voxel-based morphometry of the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in normal elderly people and those with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Background: With increasing average life expectancy in the world, Alzheimer's disease has become one of the important common diseases. However, due to the loss of brain cells, the patient's mental abilities are irreversible and it is essential to predict at early stage; so, pharmacotherapy is more effective in inhibiting the development of the disease. The diagnosis methods are biochemical and psychological. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been attended as a noninvasive and low-cost method. In this study, we tried to compare and evaluate the changes in the volume of the gray matter using voxel-based morphometry in brain MRI of normal elderly people and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: This study included 23 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 17 normal subjects. All subjects underwent neuropsychological testing and neuropsychiatry unit cognitive assessment tool (NUCOG) and the subjects were scanned using 1.5T MRI. Images were processed and analyzed using SPM8 running on MATLAB 2013b software. Finally for statistical analysis, modulated images of two groups were compared and evaluated. Findings: In comparison between the two groups, we found statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) with family wise error (FWE). Patients with mild cognitive impairment had significantly lower brain gray matter volume in frontal (P = 0.013) and medial temporal (P = 0.025) lobes. Conclusion: In this study, we found several regions of local brain atrophy in the patients with mild cognitive impairment that could reduce the gray matter volume. © 2015, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All Rights Reserved.