Journal of Alzheimer's Disease - Volume 44, issue 1

Authors: Zimny, Anna | Bladowska, Joanna | Macioszek, Adam | Szewczyk, Paweł | Trypka, Elzbieta | Wojtynska, Renata | Noga, Leszek | Leszek, Jerzy | Sasiadek, Marek

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: The posterior cingulate region is an area of the earliest pathological changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The utility of FDG-PET imaging in dementia is already well established. Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare FDG-PET with advanced MR measurements: MR spectroscopy (MRS), perfusion weighted imaging (PWI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) within the posterior cingulate region in patients with aMCI. Methods: Fifty-five patients diagnosed with aMCI (66.5 y) and 20 age-matched controls (69 y) underwent MR examination including MRS, PWI, and DTI followed by FDG-PET scanning. Values of MRS metabolite ratios …(NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, mI/Cr), PWI cerebral blood volume (rCBV), and DTI fractional anisotropy (FA) were compared to the FDG-PET rates of glucose metabolism. Results: Compared to controls, aMCI patients showed significant (p < 0.05) glucose hypometabolism, and lower rCBV and FA values. FDG-PET results correlated significantly with rCBV values. Compared to FDG-PET, PWI showed similar and DTI greater accuracy in distinguishing aMCI from controls. According to FDG-PET findings, two groups of aMCI patients were established: those with lower (PET-positive) and normal (PET-negative) glucose uptake. PET-positive aMCI subjects showed normal MRS findings, lower rCBV and FA values, while PET-negative patients revealed normal MRS and PWI results but significantly lower FA values. Conclusions: Advanced MR techniques such as PWI and particularly DTI may be regarded as competitive techniques to FDG-PET. DTI was the only method to show alterations in aMCI patients with normal FDG-PET, PWI, and MRS findings. DTI seems to be a very sensitive biomarker of early degeneration in aMCI. Show more

Keywords: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment, diffusion tensor imaging, glucose metabolism, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, perfusion weighted imaging, positron emission tomography, posterior cingulate gyrus

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-132138

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 329-338, 2015

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-141078

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 339-341, 2015