Comparative study of MRI and histology on hippocampus and entorhinal cortex in normal elderly and preelderly people

Objective To study the effect of normal aging on human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex with the comparative method of MRI and histology. Methods MRIbased area measurements through several special coronal levels(anterior commisure, mamillary body and lateral genicular nucleus)of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex were measured; the using imaging analyzer, we counted neuronal density of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex on the same coronal levels. Results The MRIbased area measurements indicated that in normal aging, there was no significant agerelated atrophy in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. The result showed that the neuronal density kept constant during normal aging; while the MRIbased area measurements correlated with those after preparation. ConclusionIn the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, there was without no the decrease of the volumes or the loss of the neurons on special levels during normal aging.It was considered that the MRIbased area measurements of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex might be of value for early diagnosis of some degenerative diseases of the CNS.