[Features of neuropsychological status and results of magnetic resonance morphometry in patients with Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma].

Objective: To identify the relationship of neuropsychological changes in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and to evaluate the results of magnetic resonance (MR)-morphometry in patients with these diseases.

Material And Methods: We examined 32 patients (median age 67 [61.25; 76.75] years, 78.1% women) diagnosed with AD and POAG. The patients were divided into the AD group (16) and the POAG group (=16). Complaints and anamnesis were collected for all patients, neurological status and neuropsychological status were assessed. MRI of the brain, followed by morphometry, was performed.

Results: Cognitive impairments (CI) were revealed in patients of both groups. The severity of CI in patients with AD was more pronounced than in patients with POAG (<0.001). Alzheimer's type of CI was detected in both groups. MR-morphometry revealed a decrease in the volume of the left hippocampus, the volume of the right and left amygdala as well as a decrease in the thickness of the right and left entorhinal cortex in the AD group compared with the POAG group (<0.05). A significant decrease in the thickness of the right medial orbitofrontal cortex was found in the POAG group compared with the AD group (<0.05).

Conclusion: In AD and POAG, there is a similarity of the neuropsychological profile, which reflects the neurodegeneration characteristic of these diseases. MRI morphometry requires an assessment of both volumes and thickness of brain structures. A neuroimaging pattern identified in patients with POAG can be regarded as an indicator of the glaucomatous process.