Abstract

The transverse computer assisted tomography (CT) method of calculating ventricular volumes of the human brain in vivo, using TRACE image analysis procedure was found to be highly reliable, and suitable for longitudinal studies of aging and dementia. Quantitative CT analyses in healthy aging men and women demonstrated significant sex differences in ventricular volume and in age of onset of ventricular enlargement. Structural brain changes, as measured by ventricular enlargement, and decline in cognitive performance on the WAIS appear to be relatively independent processes correlated more to the age of the subject. Three sets of monozygotic twins discordant for dementia of the Alzheimer type were studied and found to have significant differences in ventricular volumes. The Alzheimer patients also had faster rates of left ventricular enlargement than did normal controls, whereas their unaffected twins were within the normal range. Eight children with AIDS encephalopathy were studied and found to have significant reductions in the ventricular brain ratio accompanied by significant improvement of cognitive function when treated with chronic infusion AZT.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Intramural Research (Z01)
Project #
1Z01AG000132-06
Application #
3813636
Study Section
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Aging
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
State
Country
United States
Zip Code

  Publications

Teipel, Stefan J; Alexander, Gene E; Schapiro, Marc B et al. (2004) Age-related cortical grey matter reductions in non-demented Down's syndrome adults determined by MRI with voxel-based morphometry. Brain 127:811-24
Teipel, Stefan J; Schapiro, Mark B; Alexander, Gene E et al. (2003) Relation of corpus callosum and hippocampal size to age in nondemented adults with Down's syndrome. Am J Psychiatry 160:1870-8
Cardenas, Ana Maria; Arriagada, Christian; Allen, David D et al. (2002) Cell lines derived from hippocampal neurons of the normal and trisomy 16 mouse fetus (a model for Down syndrome) exhibit neuronal markers, cholinergic function, and functional neurotransmitter receptors. Exp Neurol 177:159-70
Cardenas, Ana Maria; Allen, David D; Arriagada, Christian et al. (2002) Establishment and characterization of immortalized neuronal cell lines derived from the spinal cord of normal and trisomy 16 fetal mice, an animal model of Down syndrome. J Neurosci Res 68:46-58
Allen, David D; Cardenas, Ana Maria; Arriagada, Christian et al. (2002) A dorsal root ganglia cell line derived from trisomy 16 fetal mice, a model for Down syndrome. Neuroreport 13:491-6
Galdzicki, Z; Siarey, R; Pearce, R et al. (2001) On the cause of mental retardation in Down syndrome: extrapolation from full and segmental trisomy 16 mouse models. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 35:115-45
Klein, R C; Siarey, R J; Caruso, A et al. (2001) Increased expression of NR2A subunit does not alter NMDA-evoked responses in cultured fetal trisomy 16 mouse hippocampal neurons. J Neurochem 76:1663-9
Murphy, E J; Schapiro, M B; Rapoport, S I et al. (2000) Phospholipid composition and levels are altered in Down syndrome brain. Brain Res 867:18-Sep
Peng, S; Rapoport, S I; Pearce, R J et al. (2000) Abnormal chloride and potassium conductances in cultured embryonic tongue muscle from trisomy 16 mouse. Brain Res Dev Brain Res 122:193-7
Shetty, H U; Siarey, R J; Galdzicki, Z et al. (2000) Ts65Dn mouse, a Down syndrome model, exhibits elevated myo-inositol in selected brain regions and peripheral tissues. Neurochem Res 25:431-5

Showing the most recent 10 out of 12 publications