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Automated volumetry of the hippocampus based on magnetic resonance imaging can discriminate between Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal aging, French researchers report in the July issue of Radiology.

"Using this measure leads to an 84 per cent correct diagnosis of AD," lead researcher Dr. Olivier Colliot of the Hopital de la Salpetriere in Paris told Reuters Health.

Dr. Colliot and colleagues prospectively evaluated the accuracy of automated hippocampal volumetry using three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI to characterize 25 patients with AD, 24 patients with amnestic MCI and 25 healthy controls.

Mean ages of the three groups were 73 years, 74 years and 64 years, respectively.

Hippocampal volume was 32 per cent smaller in AD patients and 19 per cent smaller in MCI patients compared with controls. Hippocampal volume was 15 per cent smaller in AD patients compared with those with amnestic MCI.

"Hippocampal atrophy is found in other types of dementia. However, the reduction is more severe in AD than in other types of dementia," Dr. Colliot commented.

"Individual classification on the basis of hippocampal volume resulted in 84 per cent correct classification between AD patients and controls, and 73 per cent correct classification between MCI patients and controls," the team reports.

Automated segmentation of the hippocampus on 3D MRI, they point out, "can serve as an alternative to manual tracing and may become a useful tool to assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease."