研究人員正在驗證這樣一個假說：海馬是大腦負責處理記憶的區域，在Alzheimer病(AD)輕度認知障礙患者海馬體積縮小，而認知功能穩定或者得到改善的患者海馬體積增大。

使用一種獨特的三維(3D)成像技術來評估了20例因為輕度認知障礙接受核磁共振(MRI)掃描的患者，California大學Los Angeles分校(UCLA; USA)的研究人員發現海馬體積較小的患者確實面臨發生癡呆的危險。

幫助臨床醫生鑒別輕度解剖異常的技術，能夠被用于任何引起海馬的病變，例如癡呆、 癲癇、和海馬硬化。根據UCLA研究人員的發現，檢測能夠預測認知功能下降，能夠幫助患者咨詢、治療計劃編制和治療決策。

該研究發表在2006年5月的《神經病學檔案》之上。

Size of Hippocampus Linked to Alzheimer’s
 
Researchers are trying to test the hypothesis that the hippocampus, the brain region that processes memory, is smaller in patients with mild cognitive impairment who develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and that it is larger in patients with mild cognitive impairment who experience cognitive stability or improvement.

Utilizing unique three-dimensional (3D) mapping techniques to assess magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from 20 patients with mild cognitive impairment,the researchers, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA; USA) discovered that the patients with the smaller hippocampus did, in actuality, face an increased risk of developing dementia.

The method helps clinicians identify slight anatomic differences and can be applied to any disease affecting the hippocampus such as other forms of dementia, epilepsy, and hippocampal sclerosis. Approaches such as this for predicting cognitive decline, according to the UCLA investigators, hold great potential for patient counseling, advanced planning, and therapeutic decision-making.

The study was published in the May 2006 issue of the journal Archives of Neurology.