Memory Complaints Linked to Loss of Brain Matter

Ivanhoe Newswire
Thursday, September 14, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Is your memory not what it used to be? You may actually be losing part of your brain.

In a recent study, researchers compared 120 adults older than 60 to determine whether there was any association between significant memory complaints in otherwise healthy individuals and changes in the gray matter of their brains doctors often associate with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Previous research shows loss of gray matter in the medial temporal lobe, an area of the brain associated with memory, to be reported among healthy adults as they age. The amount of reduction is more pronounced, however, in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

In this study, conducted at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire, researchers looked at the structural brain MRI scans of 40 individuals reporting significant cognitive complaints despite normal cognitive test performances. Researchers then compared the scans to those of 40 patients previously diagnosed with MCI and 40 healthy adults with no memory complaints or memory loss.

The scans and other testing showed similar patterns of reduced gray matter density in patients with significant cognitive complaints and mild cognitive impairment. Study authors write, "The changes were slightly more extensive in the MCI group than the CC group compared to the [healthy adult] group, suggesting that the CC group may represent a point on a continuum between normal aging and MCI."

Researchers say these findings suggest significant cognitive complaints may signify the onset of dementia at its earliest stages. They add that these findings highlight the importance of cognitive complaints in the clinical evaluation of older adults and suggest those who present with significant cognitive complaints warrant evaluation and close monitoring over time. Researchers conclude these findings may provide an earlier therapeutic opportunity for patients at an increased risk of dementia.

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SOURCE: Neurology, 2006;67:834-842