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Individual cerebral metabolic deficits in Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an FDG PET study

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was the identification of group and individual subject patterns of cerebral glucose metabolism (CMRGlu) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods

[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) studies and neuropsychological tests were performed in 16 aMCI patients (ten women, age 75 ± 8 years) and in 14 AD patients (ten women, age 75 ± 9 years). Comparisons between patient subgroups and with a control population were performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping.

Results

Clusters of low CMRGlu were observed bilaterally in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), in the precuneus, in the inferior parietal lobule and middle temporal gyrus of AD patients. In aMCI patients, reduced CMRGlu was found only in PCC. Areas of low CMRGlu in PCC were wider in AD compared to aMCI and extended to the precuneus, while low CMRGlu was found in the lateral parietal cortex in AD but not in aMCI patients. Individual subject pattern analysis revealed that 86% of AD patients had low CMRGlu in the PCC (including the precuneus in 71%), 71% in the temporal cortex, 64% in the parietal cortex and 35% in the frontal cortex. Among the aMCI patients, 56% had low CMRGlu in the PCC, 44% in the temporal cortex, 18% in the frontal cortex and none in the parietal cortex.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that both AD and aMCI patients have highly heterogeneous metabolic impairment. This potential of individual metabolic PET imaging in patients with AD and aMCI may allow timely identification of brain damage on individual basis and possibly help planning tailored early interventions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. K.A. Frey from University of Michigan Ann Arbor for his helpful comments and discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Radiological Sciences, University of Milan, Unit of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital San Paolo, Via Antonio di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milan, Italy

    Angelo Del Sole, Michela Lecchi & Giovanni Lucignani

  2. Center for Research and Treatment on Cognitive Dysfunctions, Institute of Clinical Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, “Luigi Sacco” Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Francesca Clerici, Claudio Mariani & Laura Maggiore

  3. Nuclear Medicine Department, Clinical Institute Humanitas, Rozzano, Milan, Italy

    Arturo Chiti

  4. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Lisa Mosconi

Authors
  1. Angelo Del Sole
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  2. Francesca Clerici
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  3. Arturo Chiti
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  4. Michela Lecchi
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  5. Claudio Mariani
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  6. Laura Maggiore
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  7. Lisa Mosconi
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  8. Giovanni Lucignani
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Correspondence to Giovanni Lucignani.

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Del Sole, A., Clerici, F., Chiti, A. et al. Individual cerebral metabolic deficits in Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an FDG PET study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 35, 1357–1366 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0773-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0773-6

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