Normal and pathological imaging of the hippocampus in geriatric patients.

Abstract

The hippocampus is a small internal temporal cerebral structure which plays a primordial role in memory mechanisms. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred method for analysing this structure. In older adults, dementia is the major cause of hippocampal anomalies, particularly atrophic anomalies, however, differential diagnoses involving other specific pathologies should also be recognised in this population. Most acute or recent hippocampal damage is detected based on MRI signal abnormalities. The aim of this article is to provide an iconographic review of normal and pathological hippocampal imaging in older adults with degenerative, infectious, vascular, inflammatory, tumoural, toxic, and metabolic disorders.