Does an Increase in Sulcal or Ventricular Fluid Predict Where Brain Tissue Is Lost?

Quantitative volumes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain tissue were measured on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 287 individuals from 5 diagnostic groups: Alzheimer's disease (AD), chronic alcoholics (ALC), individuals positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), schizophrenia subjects (SZ), and normal comparison subjects (NC) older than 50 years of age. Within each group, mean volumes were calculated for ventricular CSF, cortical (sulcal) CSF, cortical gray matter, total white matter, basal ganglia gray matter, and thalamic gray matter. Correlations of CSF measures with brain tissue measures were determined, and multiple regression analyses were performed to try and predict volume of gray matter or white matter region from volume of CSF compartment. Results indicated the following: Enlarged cortical fluid volume significantly predicts cortical gray matter deficits for subjects with AD and those who are ALC and SZ but not for subjects with HIV or NC. Enlarged cortical fluid volume also significantly predicts white matter deficits in all five groups. Enlarged ventricular fluid volume significantly predicts basal ganglia deficits in AD, HIV, and NC but not in SZ or ALC. Enlarged ventricular volume has no predictive value for thalamic volume for any of the groups. This study supports the clinical practice of predicting brain tissue volume loss from CSF enlargement but not for all brain regions in all diagnoses.

[1]  J. Fox,et al.  Use of computerized tomography in senile dementia. , 1975, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[2]  T. Crow,et al.  CEREBRAL VENTRICULAR SIZE AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA , 1976, The Lancet.

[3]  F. Caird,et al.  Computerised tomography and intellectual impairment in the elderly. , 1976, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[4]  J. Fox,et al.  Cerebral ventricular enlargement. Chronic alcoholics examined by computerized tomography. , 1976, JAMA.

[5]  M. Ron,et al.  MORPHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES IN THE BRAINS OF CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS: A CLINICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL ANDCOMPUTERIZED AXIAL TOMOGRAPHIC STUDY , 1980, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[6]  R Kono,et al.  Antibody titres to enterovirus type 70 in the 1981 Indian epidemic of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis. , 1981, Lancet.

[7]  M. Folstein,et al.  Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease , 1984, Neurology.

[8]  H. Nasrallah,et al.  Relationships between brain density, cortical atrophy and ventriculomegaly in schizophrenia and mania , 1985, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[9]  D. Richman,et al.  Evidence for early central nervous system involvement in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Studies with neuropsychologic testing and magnetic resonance imaging. , 1987, Annals of internal medicine.

[10]  Thomas P. Kobylski,et al.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised , 1988 .

[11]  S. M. de la Monte.  Disproportionate atrophy of cerebral white matter in chronic alcoholics. , 1988, Archives of neurology.

[12]  T. Smith,et al.  A structured diagnostic interview for identification of primary alcoholism: a preliminary evaluation. , 1988, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[13]  G. Press,et al.  Methods for measuring brain morphologic features on magnetic resonance images. Validation and normal aging. , 1990, Archives of neurology.

[14]  O. Strannegard,et al.  Quantitative detection of brain aberrations in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals by magnetic resonance imaging. , 1990, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[15]  D L Braff,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in lenticular nuclei and cerebral cortex in schizophrenia. , 1991, Archives of general psychiatry.

[16]  Terry L. Jernigan,et al.  Cerebral structure on MRI, Part I: Localization of age-related changes , 1991, Biological Psychiatry.

[17]  Terry L. Jernigan,et al.  Cerebral structure on MRI, part II: Specific changes in Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases , 1991, Biological Psychiatry.

[18]  L. Cermak,et al.  Reduced cerebral grey matter observed in alcoholics using magnetic resonance imaging. , 1991, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[19]  J. Duchek,et al.  Senile dementia and healthy aging: a longitudinal CT study. , 1991, Radiology.

[20]  J. Haxby,et al.  Longitudinal changes in lateral ventricular volume in Datients with dementia of the Alzheimer type , 1992, Neurology.

[21]  A. Heyman,et al.  The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). Part III. Reliability of a standardized MRI evaluation of Alzheimer's disease , 1992, Neurology.

[22]  Terry L. Jernigan,et al.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging Morphometric Analysis of Cerebral Volume Loss in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection , 1993 .

[23]  Scott T. Grafton,et al.  A method to improve interrater reliability of visual inspection of brain MRI scans in dementia , 1994, Neurology.

[24]  J. Ehrhardt,et al.  Thalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia visualized through magnetic resonance image averaging. , 1994, Science.

[25]  Daniel H. Mathalon,et al.  Age-related decline in MRI volumes of temporal lobe gray matter but not hippocampus , 1995, Neurobiology of Aging.

[26]  D. Jeste,et al.  Clinical and neuropsychological characteristics of patients with late-onset schizophrenia. , 1995, The American journal of psychiatry.

[27]  Cynthia G. Wible,et al.  Caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus volume in schizophrenia: A quantitative MRI study , 1995, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

[28]  M J Harris,et al.  Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in late-life schizophrenia. , 1995, The American journal of psychiatry.

[29]  F Barkhof,et al.  Qualitative Assessment of Cerebral Atrophy on MRI: Inter- and Intra-Observer Reproducibility in Dementia and Normal Aging , 1997, European Neurology.