Neuroimaging and the Differential Diagnosis of Early Dementia : - Quantitative CT Scan Analysis in Patients Attending a Memory Clinic


A. Spano
Bok Bokmål 1992
Utgitt
H Forstl Cent Inst Mental Hlth POB 122 120 J , 1992
Omfang
5 s.
Opplysninger
SUMMARY: Seventy-eight conscutive patients who attended a 'memory clinic' underwent a standdized clinical examination including extensive laboratory tests and cranial computed tomography (CT). This brief report evaluates the contribution of quantitative CTscan analysis to the differential diagnosis of early dementia syndromes. Vascular changes were readily identified in 13 patients with a clinical history and findings compatible with vascular dementia. Enlargement of the anterior and Sylvian fissures and of the third andlateral ventricles was significantly more severe in a group of 29 patients diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease than in 36'memory complainers' with milder cognitive impairment or in 10 age-matched non-demented controls. Quantitative CT scan analysis alone permitted a correct diagnostic distinction between 'memory complainers' and patients with Alzheimer's disease in 83% of the cases, but led to an only modest improvement of the correct discrimination achieved by cognitive testing. Our results indicate that CT scans may aid the differentiation of early dementing conditions.
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