Hippocampal sulcal cavities prevalence, risk factors and association with cognitive performance. The SMART-Medea study and PREDICT-MR study
SMART Study Group
(2019) Brain Imaging and Behavior, volume 13, issue 4, pp. 1093 - 1102
(Article)
Abstract
Hippocampal sulcal cavities (HSCs) are frequently observed on MRI, but their etiology and relevance is unclear. HSCs may be anatomical variations, or result from pathology. We assessed the presence of HSCs, and their cross-sectional association with demographics, vascular risk factors and cognitive functioning in two study samples. Within a random
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sample of 92 patients with vascular disease from the SMART-Medea study (mean age = 62, SD = 9 years) and 83 primary care patients from the PREDICT-MR study (mean age = 62, SD = 12 years) one rater manually scored HSCs at 1.5 T 3D T1-weighted coronal images blind to patient information. We estimated relative risks of age, sex and vascular risk factors with presence of HSCs using Poisson regression with log-link function and robust standard errors adjusted for age and sex. Using ANCOVA adjusted for age, sex, and education we estimated the association of the number of HSCs with memory, executive functioning, speed, and working memory. In the SMART-Medea study HSCs were present in 65% and in 52% in the PREDICT-MR study (χ2 = 2.99, df = 1, p = 0.08). In both samples, no significant associations were observed between presence of HSCs and age (SMART-Medea: RR = 1.00; 95%CI 0.98-1.01; PREDICT-MR: RR = 1.01; 95%CI 0.99-1.03), sex, or vascular risk factors. Also, no associations between HSCs and cognitive functioning were found in either sample. HSCs are frequently observed on 1.5 T MRI. Our findings suggest that, in patients with a history of vascular disease and primary care attendees, HSCs are part of normal anatomic variation of the human hippocampus rather than markers of pathology.
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Keywords: (dilated) perivascular spaces, Cognition, Hippocampus, Magnetic resonance imaging, Clinical Neurology, Neurology, Psychiatry and Mental health, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging, Behavioral Neuroscience, Journal Article
ISSN: 1931-7557
Publisher: Springer New York
Note: Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of P.H. van der Veen, MD, PhD (PHV) for her work on the ICV of the PREDICT study and M. Kooistra, PhD for her work on data collection. We also acknowledge the contribution of the SMART research nurses; R. van Petersen (data-manager); B.G.F. Dinther (vascular manager) and the participants of the SMART Study Group: A. Algra MD, PhD; Y. van der Graaf, MD, PhD; D.E. Grobbee, MD, PhD; G.E.H.M. Rutten, MD, PhD, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary care; F.L.J. Visseren, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine; G.J. de Borst, MD, PhD, Department of Vascular Surgery; L.J. Kappelle, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology; T. Leiner, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology; P.A. Doevendans, MD, PhD, Department of Cardiology. Funding Information: Financial support was received by the Alzheimer Nederland - Internationale Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (Grant number 12504). The SMART study was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research-Medical Sciences (project No. 904–65-095). The funding sources had no involvement in writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication. Publisher Copyright: © 2018, The Author(s).
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