MRI helps predict memory loss

Researchers have found a way to use magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to help predict who will sustain memory decline, according to a study appearing in the December issue of Radiology. Henry Rusinek of the New York University School of Medicine and his colleagues showed that tracking the atrophy rate of a specific area of the brain called the medial temporal lobe was highly predictive of future cognitive decline. (The medial temporal lobe is near regions of the brain critical to forming new memories.) The researchers studied 45 healthy adults over the age of 60 over a six-year period. All the patients were given initial MRI scans and neurological tests, and then two or more follow-up exams later on. During the study period, 13 patients demonstrated cognitive decline, and the atrophy rate of the temporal lobe proved to be the most significant predictor with an accuracy rate of 89 percent. Elderly adults with mild cognitive problems are more likely to decline to dementia than healthy senior citizens. If the changes involved with those problems could be detected earlier, therapy could be started sooner.

This news brief appeared in the Random Data column of the Boston Globe’s Health/Science section on 12/02/2003.