Cerebral magnetic resonance images (MRI) were compared between two
groups, each of 25 patients, one with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's
type (SDAT) and the other with multi-infarct dementia (MID). MRI proved to
be clinically useful for differentiating SDAT from MID, utilizing a
multivariate model of six MRI criteria as follows: ventricular-brain ratio,
presence of subcortical infarcts, bifrontal ventricular ratio, bicaudate
ventricular ratio, third ventricular ratio, and presence of diffuse
periventricular high-intensity white matter lucencies. Utilizing all six
MRI criteria, classification by discriminant function analysis provided 84%
correct diagnostic agreement with clinical classification of MID patients,
92% for SDAT patients, and 88% for the total cohort of demented
patients.Abstract Teaser