Clinical practice in neuroimaging study in dementia

Haruo Hanyu

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tokyo Medical University

Brain MRI and perfusion SPECT have been widely used in memory clinics in Japan. Hippocampal atrophy on MRI was demonstrated even in early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), indicating a sensitive marker of AD. As parietotemporal hypoperfusion on SPECT is a characteristic feature of AD, SPECT provides high specificty for AD against other types of dementia, including vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and frontotemporal dementia. MIBG scintigraphy and DAT scan are useful for the diagnosis of DLB and differentiation from AD. These combined neuroimaging studies allow discrimination between several types of dementia, reflecting cerebral pathology in individuals with dementia.

Address correspondence to Dr. Haruo Hanyu, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tokyo Medical University (6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan)