This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Objects. To assess the morphological changes of Lewy body dementia (LBD) we will use radial atrophy mapping, a method based on mathematical models sensitive to subtle changes in the shape of hippocampus. Methods. High-resolution T1-weighted fast field echo (FFE) (TR = 20 ms, TE = 5 ms, flip angle = 30 , field of view = 220 mm, acquisition matrix 256x256, slice thickness 1.3 mm) magnetic resonance (MR) scans were acquired at 1.0 Tesla from 14 LBD and 28 controls of similar sex and age. MR images (including brain, cerebellum, and brainstem) will normalize by linear (12 parameter) transformation to a customized template using the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM99) software. The hippocampi will manually trace according to a formal protocol with established inter- and intra-rater reliability and 3D parametric surface mesh models will create to represent the hippocampus in each subject. To assess hippocampal morphology, a medial curve will automatically define as the 3D curve traced out by the centroid of the hippocampal boundary in each image slice. The radial size of each hippocampus at each boundary point will assess by automatically measuring the radial 3D distance from the surface points to the medial curve defined for individual s hippocampal surface model. Shorter radial distances will use as an index of atrophy. Statistical maps will generate indicating local group differences in radial hippocampal distance. Expected Results. We expect that LBD is associated with a relative preservation of temporal lobe structures. Conclusion. These maps can help distinguish the patterns of atrophy associated with forms of dementia that differentially impact the human brain.
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