Nuclear medicine diagnosis of Alzheimer type dementia

Eleven patients with Alzheimer type dementia were investigated by single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene-aminoxim (HM-PAO). Nine had a typical, symmetrically reduced enrichment in the parieto-temporo-occipital area. In three of these nine patients a similar pattern was recorded additionally in the frontal, in the remaining two in the temporal or parietal region. In a semi-quantitative evaluation radioactivity concentrations in the cerebrum and cerebellum were compared. It demonstrated that there was in relation to the cerebellum a reduced concentration in seven of the eight studied cerebral regions. The relative blood flow of the parieto-temporo-occipital region was most markedly affected and in patients with Alzheimer type dementia was reduced by 25% below that of normal subjects. The results indicate that cerebral SPECT with HM-PAO is a reasonable method of investigation to confirm the diagnosis of "Alzheimer type dementia" and exclude other cerebral disease, especially if pathognomonic findings are to be obtained.