Dementia Japan 25: 16-23, 2011

Neuroimaging in vascular dementia

Haruo Hanyu

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tokyo Medical University

    Subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) is characterized by multiple lacunar infarctions and white matter lesions on MRI and frontal hypoperfusion on SPECT.  Studies with diffusion-weighted imaging and magnetization transfer measurements may allow the characterization of different pathological processes and enable the demonstration of underlying white matter lesions that cannot be visualized by conventional MRI.  A higher frequency and number of microbleeds is shown in patients with VaD using T2*-weighted MRI.  The depiction of microbleeds may provide useful information in the selection of anti-platelet therapy.  Cholinergic dysfunctions were shown in some patients with SVaD.  The response to cholinesterase inhibitors may be attributable to cholinergic neuron damages in SVaD as well as Alzheimer's disease.

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