The effect of focal cerebral atrophy in positron emission tomographic studies of aging and dementia.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-1990
Abstract
We used x-ray computed tomographic (XCT) scans to measure the degree of cerebral atrophy in brain regions defined by a region of interest (ROI) anatomy atlas. The same atlas was employed for quantitation of local cerebral glucose metabolic rates (LCMRglc) by PET. PET data were obtained from 9 young controls, 7 healthy elderly controls, and 10 patients with dementia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in atrophic brain regions was assumed to be metabolically inert, and LCMRglc measurements were corrected for the degree of atrophy. Significantly greater atrophy was seen for 7 of 8 regions in comparisons between demented patients and age-matched controls. This atrophy was most pronounced in superior parietal (SP) regions. Decreases in parietal LCMRglc in dementia patients and SP LCMRglc in old controls were no longer significant after correction for atrophy. These results emphasize the need to consider focal atrophy effects in regional quantitative analyses of emission tomographic data.
Volume
17
Issue
8
First Page
797
Last Page
804
ISSN
0883-2897
Published In/Presented At
Chawluk, J. B., Dann, R., Alavi, A., Hurtig, H. I., Gur, R. E., Resnick, S., Zimmerman, R. A., & Reivich, M. (1990). The effect of focal cerebral atrophy in positron emission tomographic studies of aging and dementia. International journal of radiation applications and instrumentation. Part B, Nuclear medicine and biology, 17(8), 797–804. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-2897(90)90028-y
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
2079426
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article