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Review
. 2011 Jun:1228:81-92.
doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06015.x.

PET/CT in diagnosis of dementia

Valentina Berti  1 , Alberto Pupi, Lisa Mosconi
Affiliations
Review

PET/CT in diagnosis of dementia

Valentina Berti et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Clinical use of positron emission tomography (PET) is now well established in neurodegenerative disorders, especially in the diagnosis of dementia. Measurement of cerebral glucose metabolism is of significant value, and it facilitates early diagnosis, appropriate differential diagnosis, and the evaluation of drug treatment in patients with dementia. In addition, tracers offer new perspectives for studying the neuropathology of underlying dementia, such as the accumulation of amyloid proteins, tau-proteins, or the presence of neuroinflammation. Finally, PET tracer studies of different neurotransmitter systems in dementia may not only increase the understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms of the different disorders, but also improve diagnostic accuracy. In conclusion, PET imaging with different tracers offers reliable biomarkers in dementia, which can assist clinicians in the diagnosis of different dementing disorders, especially in the situation of overlapping phenotypes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
[18F]FDG PET scan of a representative patient with AD. From left to right: axial sections showing reduced tracer uptake in (A) inferior pariet al lobules, bilaterally, where a slight asymmetry is noticeable (left < right); (B) superior temporal gyri, bilaterally, with the left hemisphere being more affected than the right; (C) bilateral medial temporal lobes and inferior temporal cortex; and (D) a coronal section showing hypometabolism of the hippocampi.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative cortical [18F]FDG PET patterns in NL, AD, DLB, and FTD. 3D-surface projection (3D-SSP) maps and corresponding Z scores showing CMRglc reductions in clinical groups as compared with a NL database are displayed on a color-coded scale ranging from 0 (black) to 10 (red). From left to right: 3D-SSP maps are shown on the right and left lateral, superior, and inferior, anterior and posterior, right and left middle views of a standardized brain image.
Figure 3
Figure 3
[18F]FDG and [11C]PiB PET scans of a representative normal subject (left side of figure) and a patient with AD (right side). For both scans, standardized uptake value ratios to the cerebellum are displayed using a color-coded scale (range: 1–2.5).
Figure 4
Figure 4
[18F]FDG PET in different forms of FTLD, showing three representative cases with bvFTD (top), PNFA (middle), and SD (bottom).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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