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

Normal aging involves a decline in memory that correlates both with environmental factors and with hippocampal volumetric atrophy and APOE genotype .
In this recent study 3D MR imaging, genetic analysis, gender and assessment of verbal memory function were utilized to investigate relationships between these factors in a sample of 170 healthy volunteers (age range 46–77 years).
Gender and left hippocampal volumes are main predictors for verbal memory function in normal aging. APOE genotype seems not to have any significant effect on verbal memory function. Reduced left side hippocampus volume seems more important than right side reduction for verbal memory decline in women, especially in women of 70 years of age. Moreover, men seem to have more affected verbal memory function in this age group than women, and, for them, this memory decline seems not related to hippocampal volume.
Gender and left hippocampal volumes are main predictors for verbal memory function in normal aging.