Brain SPECT imaging of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Objective: To assess the early diagnostic and prognostic value of brain SPECT imaging in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Brain SPECT imaging and follow-up study were performed in 33 AD patients, 17 MCI patients and 12 cognitive normal subjects. Results: The typical feature of AD was bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion. Compared with MCI and normal group, the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of temporal lobe, parietal lobe, frontal lobe, thalamus and cingulum decreased significantly (P< 0.05). MCI had a significant lower rCBF in temporal lobe only than that in normal group (P<0.05). Besides, the rCBF in cingulum of instable MCI was much lower than that in cingulum of stable MCI (P<0.05). Conclusion: Brain SPECT imaging can provide useful information for the early diagnosis of AD and MCI, and also for the prognosis of MCI. (authors)