Posted by Annapaola Prestia Laboratory of Epidemiology Neuroimaging and Telemedicine, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio FBF, The National Centre for Research and Care of Alzheimer’s and Mental Diseases, Brescia, Italy

Several studies have demonstrated gender-associated differences in Alzheimer disease patients (AD). For example, higher prevalence and incidence of AD has been found in females. Only one study has examined gender effects on hippocampal volume in MCI patients. The aim of this study was to use in vivo neuroimaging techniques to determine whether there were any evidences of gender differences in hippocampal atrophy in amnestic type mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Hippocampal volumes of 39 aMCI (22 male; 17 female) and 23 (12 male,11 female) normal aging subjects were compared. Results showed that aMCI patients had significantly smaller hippocampal volumes bilaterally than their healthy matched control counterparts. Moreover, males were found to have a larger left/right hippocampal difference compared to females. Instead female, in both aMCI and control subjects groups, showed a smaller hippocampal volume than their counterparts, suggesting that gender differences were not related to disease status.