No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
HMPAO-SPECT in memory disorders
... 7, D-80336 Munich, Germany Tel.: +49-89-5160-5501, Fax: +49-89-5160-5522 and bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion is also found in Parkinson's disease with dementia (Kuhl et al. 1984, Holman et al. 1992, Salmon et al. 1993 ), vascular dementia (Kuwabara et al. 1990), and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (Friedland et al. 1984). Recent studies show that bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion (with or without additional defects) characterises approximately 50–65% of DAT patients (Holman et al. 1992, Horn et al. 1995). Thus, the sensitivity of this hypoperfusion pattern seems low, but the specificity seems high, if Parkinson's disease with dementia can be excluded. ...
... Therefore, we feel sure that with a larger and/or less conspicuous sample of controls, a significant association between diagnosis and presence of bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion could be demonstrated. Nevertheless, a significant association does not mean that there is a close relationship, and in keeping with recent work (Holman et al. 1992, Horn et al. 1995 ), these data show that broadly defined bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion is found in only approximately 48% of DAT patients and also approximately 25% of controls with cognitive problems. In looking for an alternative SPECT indicator of DAT, the amount of hypoperfusions as indicated by the number of brain regions showing hypoperfusion was evaluated. ...
The primary objective of this study was to test hypotheses about the relationship between HMPAO-SPECT findings and probable
Alzheimer’s disease (DAT) in a relatively large sample of patients diagnosed according to DSM-III-R. SPECT patterns of 20
controls and 116 DAT patients were investigated. Left and right frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital regions of the
brain were rated as showing a hypoperfusion or not. A wide variety of patterns were found and these are described in detail
below. In DAT patients, temporal and/or parietal regions were affected significantly more often (88%, p > 0.001) than frontal and/or occipital regions (70%). A bilateral temporoparietal pattern, which has been repeatedly reported
as typical for DAT, was observed in 48% of DAT patients, but also in 25% of controls, and did not differentiate significantly
between these two groups (p > 0.05). Conversely, more than three regions with hypoperfusion were observed significantly more often in DAT patients (48%,
p < 0.01) than in controls (10%). In DAT patients, the number of regions with hypoperfusion correlated significantly with the
score of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE, r = 0.33, p < 0.001). The frequency of at least one hypoperfusion was approximately equal in left and right hemispheres (77% vs. 73%,
p = 0.2). The hypothesis that cognitive decline in DAT starts in the temporal regions was tested in 14 SPECT patterns showing
only one region with hypoperfusion. In 12 of these patterns, a temporal region was in fact affected (p < 0.001). Whereas hypoperfusion in frontal areas was not accompanied by a significantly lower MMSE than when only temporoparietal
regions were affected, MMSE scores were significantly lower when occipital regions were affected in addition to temporoparietal
regions (p < 0.05). The clinical use of SPECT findings was tested in discriminating analyses with the MMSE and a delayed recall test
as additional predictors of DAT. Whereas the MMSE and the delayed recall test differentiated significantly between DAT patients
and controls, SPECT findings yielded no further differentiation. In conclusion, the theoretical and clinical implications
of SPECT findings and their relationships to other physiological and psychological variables deserve further investigation.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.