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Automated mapping of hippocampal atrophy in 1-year repeat MRI data from 490 subjects with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly controls
Morra JH, Tu Z, Apostolova LG, Green AE, Avedissian C, Madsen SK, Parikshak N, Toga AW et al.. NeuroImage, 2008-11-08
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
As one of the earliest structures to degenerate in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the hippocampus is the target of many studies of factors that influence rates of brain degeneration in the elderly. In one of the largest brain mapping studies to date, we mapped the 3D profile of hippocampal degeneration over time in 490 subjects scanned twice with brain MRI over a 1-year interval (980 scans). We examined baseline and 1-year follow-up scans of 97 AD subjects (49 males/48 females), 148 healthy control subjects (75 males/73 females), and 245 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 160 males/85 females).
Key findings
- In one of the largest brain mapping studies to date, we mapped the 3D profile of hippocampal degeneration over time in 490 subjects scanned twice with brain MRI over a 1-year interval (980 scans).
- We examined baseline and 1-year follow-up scans of 97 AD subjects (49 males/48 females), 148 healthy control subjects (75 males/73 females), and 245 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 160 males/85 females).
- We used our previously validated automated segmentation method, based on AdaBoost, to create 3D hippocampal surface models in all 980 scans.
- Hippocampal volume loss rates increased with worsening diagnosis (normal=0.66%/year; MCI=3.12%/year; AD=5.59%/year), and correlated with both baseline and interval changes in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and global and sum-of-boxes Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) scores.
Why it matters
This brain mapping study measured hippocampal shrinkage over one year using MRI scans from 490 people with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and healthy controls. It describes a way to track brain degeneration over time, not a treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Participants490
- Effect size0.66%; 3.12%; 5.59%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (NeuroImage) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | NeuroImage: journal h-index 523 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 490 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 242 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.7 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 24 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Paul M. Thompson: h-index 193 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, Los Angeles: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19041724) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.043
- PubMed: 19041724
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Morra, J. H., Tu, Z., Apostolova, L. G., Green, A. E., Avedissian, C., Madsen, S. K., et al. (2009). Automated mapping of hippocampal atrophy in 1-year repeat MRI data from 490 subjects with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly controls. NeuroImage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.043
Vancouver
Morra JH, Tu Z, Apostolova LG, Green AE, Avedissian C, Madsen SK, et al. Automated mapping of hippocampal atrophy in 1-year repeat MRI data from 490 subjects with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly controls. NeuroImage. 2009. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.043. PMID: 19041724.
BibTeX
@article{morra2009-19041724,
author = {Morra, J. H. and Tu, Z. and Apostolova, L. G. and Green, A. E. and Avedissian, C. and Madsen, S. K. and Parikshak, N. and Toga, A. W. and others},
title = {{Automated mapping of hippocampal atrophy in 1-year repeat MRI data from 490 subjects with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly controls}},
journal = {NeuroImage},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.043},
pmid = {19041724},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.043}
}
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