Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr James LloydORCiD
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are the three most common causes of young onset dementias. Most neuroimaging studies of these disorders have involved comparisons with normal controls. The aims of this study were to examine the clinical diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (in combination and in isolation) in the differentiation of one form of dementia from another from amongst a group of AD, FTD and VaD. METHODS: T1 weighted MRI images and 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT images were obtained from consecutive patients with FTD (n=21), AD (n=23) and VaD (n=20) and rated visually by experienced neuroradiologists and nuclear medicine physicians. RESULTS: Asymmetrical atrophy was seen only in FTD. Frontotemporal dementia patients were the most atrophic whereas severe atrophy was rarely observed in VaD. Severe frontal atrophy (unilaterally or bilaterally) and/or asymmetrical atrophy on MRI is highly diagnostic (sensitivity 0.71, specificity 0.93, LR 10.24) of FTD from within a group of FTD and non-FTD (AD, VaD) patients. Mild or severe parietal atrophy with severe reduction in parietal regional cerebral blood flow on SPECT is diagnostic (sensitivity 0.71, specificity 0.76, LR 3.02) of AD from within a group of AD and non-AD (VaD, FTD) patients. CONCLUSION: Anatomical (MRI) and functional (SPECT) imaging provide different information and a combination of these modalities improves diagnostic specificity.
Author(s): Lloyd JJ; Varma AR; Adams W; Carson KJ; Snowden JS; Testa HJ; Jackson A; Neary D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica
Year: 2002
Volume: 105
Issue: 4
Pages: 261-269
ISSN (print): 0001-6314
ISSN (electronic): 1600-0404
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0404.2002.1o148.x
DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0404.2002.1o148.x
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
