Identification of predictors for mini-mental state examination and revised Hasegawa's Dementia Scale scores using MR-based brain morphometry

Purpose: The early detection of cognitive function decline is crucial to help manage or slow the progression of symptoms. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and revised Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS-R) are widely used in screening for cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study was to explore common predictors of the two different cognitive testing systems using MR-based brain morphometry. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 200 subjects with clinical suspicion of cognitive impairment who underwent 3D T1-weighted MRI at our institution between February 2019 and August 2020. Variables related to the volume of deep gray matter and 70 cortical thicknesses were obtained from the MR images using voxel-based specific regional analysis system for Alzheimer's disease (VSRAD) and FreeSurfer software. The correlation between each variable including age and MMSE/HDS-R scores was evaluated using uniand multi-variate logistic regression analyses. Results: In univariate analysis, parameters include hippocampal volume and bilateral entorhinal cortex (ERC) thickness showed moderate correlation coefficients with both MMSE and HDS-R scores. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the right ERC thickness was the common parameter which significantly correlates with both MMSE and HDS-R scores (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Right ERC thickness appears to offer a useful predictive biomarker for both MMSE and HDS-R scores.

Automated summary

This study investigated common predictors of two different cognitive testing systems, MMSE and HDS-R, in individuals with suspected cognitive impairment using MRI-based brain morphometry. The results showed that the right ERC thickness was significantly correlated with both MMSE and HDS-R scores, suggesting it as a useful predictive biomarker for cognitive decline.