[Neuroimaging of cerebral small vessel disease in mild cognitive impairment in older adults.]

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) - is a clinical and radiological phenomenon characteristic of older adults. Currently, the extent of white matter lesions (WML) in patients with moderate cognitive disorders remains uncertain. Also, the relationship of cognitive impairment with the volume of WML has not been sufficiently studied. The aim of the study was to analyze the WML volumes in patients with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI) and in the control group according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study included 50 people: 25 patients with svMCI (average age 75,88±4,04 years) and 25 conditionally healthy volunteers (average age 69,96±3,07 years). Significant differences in the volume of WML between the study groups were obtained. The fraction of hypointense WML was 0,74±0,41 in patients with svMCI and 0,15±0,07 in the control group. In the correlation analysis in the svMCI group, only the function of mental control showed a negative relationship with the fraction of WML. The data obtained suggest that the assessment of the volume of WML is important in patients with svMCI, but does not fully explain the decline in cognitive functions.

[Gender differences in the volume of brain structures in the aspect of physiological aging.]

The aim of the work was to clarify the gender, age and variable differences in the structure of brain structures in healthy volunteers in connection with the task of distinguishing between physiological aging and pathological processes of the brain. The study methods included performing structural MRI of the brain in 131 conditionally healthy volunteers aged 20 to 70 years (72 of them were women and 59 men). Using the method of MR voxel-based morphometry, the total volume of the brain as a whole, as well as its segmented parts, was measured, followed by a comparison of the data obtained in age subgroups and between the sexes. The data obtained in the course of the study indicate that the right and left thalamuses, the left caudate nucleus, the right shell, the left pale ball, and both hippocampus undergo the greatest reduction in size after 60 years. The greatest changes in the hippocampus are the volumes of CA3 Brodman fields. It is established that the process of «physiological aging¼ of the brain.

[What is normal cognitive aging?]

Using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-III), the Stroop Test (ST), the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), we examined 44 respondents of an almost healthy «age norm¼ from 52 to 95 years old. Depending on age, the sample was divided into 2 groups, the first group included people under the age of 65 years (64 years old inclusive), the second group consisted of subjects over 65 years old. Statistically significant differences in the results of the survey of respondents of the two groups by the ACE-III were found in Memory and Total score indicators, while the level of cognitive functioning measured by the ACE-III decreased with age. The results of comparing the survey data using the Stroop Test indicate a decrease in the pace of work under load conditions and a weakening in the flexibility of organization of mental activity and concentration of attention, as well as increased interference in individuals of a more age group examined by us. Correlation analysis of the Stroop test data and the age of the examined showed cognitive control over information processing decreases, interfering influences increase, accuracy and pace of activity decrease, and the activity itself becomes more rigidas age increases. The results of the correlation analysis of the indicators of the WMS and age demonstrated a decrease in the level of mental control over activity, a deterioration of memory in the visual modality, and a progressive working memory reduction as age increases. With the growth of age, a decrease in frontal (executive) functions of healthy subjects, evaluated by the FAB, was found.