To evaluate the pathophysiology of frontal lobe dementia (FLD), the
authors compared regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in matched groups of
FLD, probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and major depression patients and
normal control subjects (n = 7 each). The planar xenon-133 technique
allowed full quantification of cortical perfusion and estimates of the
relative weight of gray matter (wg). FLD patients showed lower blood flow
and wg in the frontal cortex than the other groups. Mean cortical perfusion
was correlated with cortical wg in the FLD group only. These findings 1)
suggest that matched reductions of frontal gray matter weight and perfusion
occur in FLD and 2) support the use of rCBF in distinguishing FLD from AD
and severe depression.Abstract Teaser