Neurology Journal
March 28, 2017 vol. 88 no. 13 1265-1272
Jennifer G. Goldman, MD, MS, Ian O. Bledsoe, MD, MS, Doug Merkitch, BA, Vy Dinh, BA, Bryan Bernard, PhD and Glenn T. Stebbins, PhD
Abstract
Objective: To investigate atrophy of the corpus callosum on MRI in Parkinson disease (PD) and its relationship to cognitive impairment.
Methods: One hundred patients with PD and 24 healthy control participants underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluations and structural MRI brain scans. Participants with PD were classified as cognitively normal (PD-NC; n = 28), having mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI; n = 47), or having dementia (PDD; n = 25) by Movement Disorder Society criteria. Cognitive domain (attention/working memory, executive function, memory, language, visuospatial function) z scores were calculated. With the use of FreeSurfer image processing, volumes for total corpus callosum and its subsections (anterior, midanterior, central, midposterior, posterior) were computed and normalized by total intracranial volume. Callosal volumes were compared between participants with PD and controls and among PD cognitive groups, covarying for age, sex, and PD duration and with multiple comparison corrections. Regression analyses were performed to evaluate relationships between callosal volumes and performance in cognitive domains.
