Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
| [b] Centre for Dementia Prevention, University of Edinburgh, UK
| [c] Inserm, University Montpellier, France
| [d] The Centre for Psychiatry, Imperial College London, UK
| [e] Clinical Imaging Facility, Imperial College London, UK
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Dr. Li Su or Prof. John O’Brien, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Box 189, Level E4, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SP, UK. E-mails: ls514@cam.ac.uk or john.obrien@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: Background:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) begins decades before the onset of dementia. There is a need to investigate biomarkers of early AD for use in clinical trials and to facilitate early intervention. Objective:We aimed to determine whether changes in hippocampal subfield volumes in healthy middle-aged adults were associated with risk of future dementia. Methods:We included 150 participants from the PREVENT-Dementia cohort, which recruited subjects aged 40–59 with or without a family history of dementia (FHD; included here were 81 with FHD and 69 without). Hippocampal subfield volumes were segmented from high resolution T2-weighted 3T MRI images taken at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results:FHD and greater 20 year-risk of dementia due to cardiovascular risk factors were both associated with lower CA1 volume. FHD was also associated with a relative increase in combined CA3, CA4, and dentate gyrus volume between baseline and follow-up. Conclusion:CA1 atrophy may commence as early as middle-age in those with a high risk of future dementia, while increases in CA3, CA4, and dentate gyrus volume may be a response to early AD in the form of inflammation or neurogenesis.
