Regional atrophy associated with cognitive and motor function in prodromal Huntington disease.

Background: Neuroimaging studies suggest that volumetric MRI measures of specific brain structures may serve as excellent biomarkers in future clinical trials of Huntington disease (HD).

Objective: Demonstration of the clinical significance of these measures is an important step in determining their appropriateness as potential outcome measures.

Methods: Measures of gray- and white-matter lobular volumes and subcortical volumes (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus) were obtained from MRI scans of 516 individuals who tested positive for the HD gene expansion, but were not yet exhibiting signs or symptoms severe enough to warrant diagnosis ("pre-HD").