ABSTRACT
In the past 10 years, medical professionals have been challenged when using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to characterize brain changes and elucidate the organization of brains with lesions. In such cases, VBM is often used [1, 2]. Systematic meta-analyses of VBM studies have identified decreasing GM volumes in AD patients [3]. Voxel-based morphometry is a powerful method for detecting longitudinal brain morphometric changes [4]. In 2006, more than 26.6 million people were affected byAD [5]. Mild cognitive impairment has been proposed as a transitional stage between normal aging and a diagnosis of clinically probableAD [6]. Previous studies have examined brain atrophy associated with progressive diseases [7-10]. Age-associated GM loss occurs predominantly in the frontal, cingulate, insular, and parietal brain regions [11]. Using the VBM method, numerous studies have indicated that MCI and probable AD are associated with the atrophy of GM, primarily in the parahippocampal gyrus, medial temporal lobe, insula, and thalamus [12-14]. Research groups have recently studiedAD and MCI from various perspectives, attempting to understand the pathogenesis and discover effective therapies, such as the effect of the APOE genotype. A longitudinal study showed that APOE ε4 positive HC patients demonstrated an accelerated rate of atrophy relative to ε4 negative participants, but only in hippocampal volume [3].
