Anne Mette Leffers

Publications (2)5.58 Total impact

• Article: White matter hyperintensities and prepulse inhibition in a mixed elderly population.

  Lise C Salem, Anne-Mette Hejl, Ellen Garde, Anne Mette Leffers, Olaf B Paulson, Gunhild Waldemar
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  ABSTRACT: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, a measure for sensorimotor gating, exhibits a relatively high inter-individual variability in elderly subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether white matter hyperintensities (WMH), frequently identified on cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elderly subjects with and without cognitive impairment, may contribute to variations in PPI. A passive acoustic PPI paradigm was applied in 92 human subjects (53 healthy and 39 patients with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment) between 60 and 85years of age. WMH were rated visually on craniel MRI FLAIR images using the Fazekas scale. WMH were identified in 70% of all subjects. The latency to peak of the startle response increased significantly with increasing WMH load, whereas the inhibition of the startle response (PPI) was neither significantly related to the degree of WMH nor to cognitive performance. We conclude that the presence of WMH in the fronto-striatal brain circuit may affect the latency of the startle response, but not information processing in elderly subjects.
  Psychiatry Research 12/2011; 194(3):314-8. · 2.52 Impact Factor
• Article: Corpus callosum atrophy in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

  Kristian Steen Frederiksen, Ellen Garde, Arnold Skimminge, Charlotte Ryberg, Egill Rostrup, William F C Baaré, Hartwig R Siebner, Anne-Mette Hejl, Anne-Mette Leffers, Gunhild Waldemar
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  ABSTRACT: Several studies have found atrophy of the corpus callosum (CC) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it remains unclear whether callosal atrophy is already present in the early stages of AD, and to what extent it may be associated with other structural changes in the brain, such as age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) and progression of the disease. Twenty-eight patients in the early stages of AD and 50 non-demented elderly subjects with varying degrees of ARWMC were investigated using MRI. The CC was assessed semi-automatically, and ARWMC were rated according to the Fazekas scale. A significant difference in posterior CC size could be detected between non-demented elderly subjects and early stage AD patients. The sizes of the total CC, rostral body and splenium at baseline were correlated with change from baseline MMSE score after a 1-year follow-up in AD patients. There was no association between CC size and ARWMC. The present findings indicate that posterior CC atrophy is present in mild AD independently of ARWMC. Furthermore, CC atrophy may be associated with cognitive deterioration.
  Neurodegenerative Diseases 06/2011; 8(6):476-82. · 3.06 Impact Factor