Medial Temporal Atrophy in Posterior Cortical Atrophy and Its Relationship to the Cingulate Island Sign.

BACKGROUND

It has been hypothesized that medial temporal sparing may be related to preserved posterior cingulate metabolism and the cingulate island sign (CIS) on [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET in posterior cortical atrophy (PCA).

OBJECTIVE

To assess the severity of medial temporal atrophy in PCA and determine whether the presence of a CIS is related to medial temporal sparing.

METHODS

Fifty-five PCA patients underwent MRI and FDG-PET. The degree and symmetry of medial temporal atrophy on MRI was visually assessed using a five-point scale for both hemispheres. Visual assessments of FDG-PET coded the presence/absence of a CIS and whether the CIS was symmetric or asymmetric. Hippocampal volumes and a quantitative CIS were also measured.

RESULTS

Medial temporal atrophy was most commonly mild or moderate, was symmetric in 55% of patients, and when asymmetric was most commonly worse on the right (76%). Older age and worse memory performance were associated with greater medial temporal atrophy. The CIS was observed in 44% of the PCA patients and was asymmetric in 50% of these. The patients with a CIS showed greater medial temporal asymmetry, but did not show lower medial temporal atrophy scores, compared to those without a CIS. Hippocampal volumes were not associated with quantitative CIS.

CONCLUSION

Mild medial temporal atrophy is a common finding in PCA and is associated with memory impairment. However, medial temporal sparing was not related to the presence of a CIS in PCA.