Corpus callosum atrophy as a predictor of age-related cognitive and motor impairment : a 3-year follow-up of the LADIS study cohort

The aim of this 3-year follow-up study was to investigate whether corpus callosum (CC) atrophy may predict future motor and cognitive impairment in an elderly population. On baseline MRI from 563 subjects with age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) from the Leukoaraiosis And DISability (LADIS) study, the CC was segmented and subdivided into five anterior-posterior regions (CC1-CC5). Associations between the CC areas and decline in motor performance and cognitive functions over a 3-year period were analyzed. CC atrophy at baseline was significantly associated with impaired cognitive performance (p < 0.01 for CC1, p < 0.05 for CC5), motor function (p < 0.05 for CC2 and CC5), and walking speed (p < 0.01 for CC2 and CC5, p < 0.05 for CC3 and total CC), and with development of dementia at 3 years (p < 0.05 for CC1) after correction for appropriate confounders (ARWMC volume, atrophy, age, gender and handedness). In conclusion, CC atrophy, an indicator of reduced functional connectivity between cortical areas, seems to contribute, independently of ARWMC load, to future cognitive and motor decline in the elderly.