We provide here normative values of yearly percentage brain volume change (PBVC/y) as obtained with Structural Imaging Evaluation, using Normalization, of Atrophy, a widely used open-source software, developing a PBVC/y calculator for assessing the deviation from the expected PBVC/y in patients with neurological disorders. We assessed multicenter (34 centers, 11 acquisition protocols) magnetic resonance imaging data of 720 healthy participants covering the whole adult lifespan (16-90 years). Data of 421 participants with a follow-up > 6 months were used to obtain the normative values for PBVC/y and data of 392 participants with a follow-up <1 month were selected to assess the intrasubject variability of the brain volume measurement. A mixed model evaluated PBVC/y dependence on age, sex, and magnetic resonance imaging parameters (scan vendor and magnetic field strength). PBVC/y was associated with age (p < 0.001), with 60- to 70-year-old participants showing twice more volume decrease than participants aged 30-40 years. PBVC/y was also associated with magnetic field strength, with higher decreases when measured by 1.5T than 3T scanners (p < 0.001). The variability of PBVC/y normative percentiles was narrower as the interscan interval was longer (e.g., 80th normative percentile was 50% smaller for participants with 2-year than with 1-year follow-up). The use of these normative data, eased by the freely available calculator, might help in better discriminating pathological from physiological conditions in the clinical setting.

CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science Institute of Psychology Beijing China; Department of Psychology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

Department of Health Sciences University of Genoa Genoa Italy

Department of Medical Surgical Neurological Metabolic and Aging Sciences University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Naples Italy

Department of Medicine Surgery and Neuroscience University of Siena Siena Italy

Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurology Medical University of Graz Graz Austria

Department of Neurology Medical University of Graz Graz Austria; Division of Neuroradiology Vascular and Interventional Radiology Department of Radiology Medical University of Graz Graz Austria

Department of Neurosciences S Camillo Forlanini Hospital Rome Italy

Department of Radiodiagnostics 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine MS Center Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine MS Center Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands; Department of Physics and Medical Technology VU University Medical Center Amsterdam the Netherlands

Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine MS Center Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands; Institutes of Neurology and Healthcare Engineering UCL London UK; National Institute for Health Research London UK

Laboratory for Neuroimaging Research Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston MA USA

Neuroimaging Research Unit Institute of Experimental Neurology Division of Neuroscience San Raffaele Scientific Institute Vita Salute San Raffaele University Milan Italy

Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust University of Oxford Oxford UK

Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre UCL Institute of Neurology University College London UK

Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre UCL Institute of Neurology University College London UK; Brain MRI 3T UK Research Center C Mondino National Neurological Institute Pavia Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences University of Pavia Pavia Italy

Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre UCL Institute of Neurology University College London UK; National Institute for Health Research London UK

References provided by Crossref.org

Evolution of Brain Volume Loss Rates in Early Stages of Multiple Sclerosis