TY - JOUR T1 - Hippocampal atrophy correlates with severe cognitive impairment in elderly patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus. JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 590 LP - 593 DO - 10.1136/jnnp.57.5.590 VL - 57 IS - 5 AU - J Golomb AU - M J de Leon AU - A E George AU - A Kluger AU - A Convit AU - H Rusinek AU - S de Santi AU - A Litt AU - S H Foo AU - S H Ferris Y1 - 1994/05/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/57/5/590.abstract N2 - Measurements of hippocampal formation atrophy using MRI have been useful in distinguishing demented patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease from cognitively normal controls. To determine whether there is a similar relationship between hippocampal size and dementia in elderly patients suspected of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), the authors obtained mini-mental status examination (MMSE) scores and MRI measurements of hippocampal size and CSF volume on 16 elderly patients whose severe ventriculomegaly and unexplained gait impairment made NPH a probable diagnosis. Hippocampal size correlated strongly with MMSE score (r = 0.75, p < 0.001); no significant MMSE correlation was found for ventricular CSF volume or extra-ventricular/ventricular CSF ratio. It was concluded that hippocampal atrophy is associated with severe cognitive dysfunction in many elderly patients with a diagnosis of NPH. As a hypothesis for further investigation, the detection of such atrophy may help identify cases where the presence of a pathology of Alzheimer's disease complicates the diagnosis of NPH. ER -