Background

Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) present gait disturbances including slower speed and higher variability when compared to cognitively healthy individuals (CHI). Brain neuroimaging could explore higher levels of motor control. Our purpose was to look for an association between morphometrics and gait parameters in each group. We hypothesized that the relation between morphological cerebral alteration and gait speed are different following the group.

Methods

Fifty-three participants (30 with aMCI and 23 CHI) were recruited in this French cross-sectional study (mean 72 ± 5 years, 38% female). Gait speed and gait variability (coefficients of variation of stride time (STV) and stride length (SLV)) were measured using GAITrite® system. CAT12 software was used to analyse volume and surface morphometry like gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT). Age, gender and education level were used as potential cofounders.

Results

aMCI had slower gait speed and higher STV when compared to CHI. In aMCI the full adjusted linear regression model showed that lower gait speed was associated with decreased GMV and lower CT in bilateral superior temporal gyri (p < 0.36). In CHI, no association was found between gait speed and brain structure. Higher SLV was correlated with reduced GMV in spread regions (p < 0.05) and thinner cortex in the middle right frontal gyrus (p = 0.001) in aMCI. In CHI, higher SLV was associated with reduced GMV in 1 cluster: the left lingual (p = 0.041).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that lower gait speed is associated with specific brain structural changes as reduced GMV and CT during aMCI.

中文翻译：

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遗忘性轻度认知障碍患者步态速度与大脑结构之间的关联：一项定量神经影像学研究

背景

与认知健康个体 (CHI) 相比，患有遗忘型轻度认知障碍 (aMCI) 的患者出现步态障碍，包括速度较慢和变异性较高。脑神经影像学可以探索更高水平的运动控制。我们的目的是寻找每组中形态测量学和步态参数之间的关联。我们假设形态学脑改变与步态速度之间的关系随组不同而不同。

方法

在这项法国横断面研究中招募了 53 名参与者（30 名患有 aMCI 和 23 名 CHI）（平均 72 ± 5 岁，38% 为女性）。使用 GAITrite® 系统测量步态速度和步态变异性（步幅时间 (STV) 和步幅长度 (SLV) 的变化系数）。CAT12软件用于分析体积和表面形态学，如灰质体积（GMV）和皮质厚度（CT）。年龄、性别和教育水平被用作潜在的联合创始人。

结果

与 CHI 相比，aMCI 具有较慢的步态速度和较高的 STV。在 aMCI 中，完全调整的线性回归模型显示，较低的步态速度与降低的 GMV 和较低的双侧颞上回 CT 相关（p < 0.36）。在 CHI 中，未发现步态速度与大脑结构之间存在关联。在 aMCI 中，较高的 SLV 与扩散区域的 GMV 减少（p < 0.05）和右额中回的较薄皮层（p = 0.001）相关。在 CHI，较高的 SLV 与 1 个集群中的 GMV 降低相关：左舌（p = 0.041）。

结论

这些发现表明，较低的步态速度与特定的大脑结构变化有关，因为 aMCI 期间 GMV 和 CT 降低。