J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1997; 9:68-74
Copyright © 1997 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Correlations between SPECT regional cerebral blood flow and psychometric testing in patients with Alzheimer's disease
MN Sabbagh, P Lynn, S Jhingran, P Massman, J Villanueva-Meyer, J Olup and RS Doody
Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, USA.
Thirty-nine patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were studied
with [99mTc]HMPAO SPECT and a standardized neuropsychological battery
testing intellect, memory, attention, language, motor and praxis functions,
and depression. Spearman rank correlations and multivariate regression
analyses were performed to correlate quantitative regional perfusion
deficits to these tests. Patients were found to have decreased perfusion of
left frontal, parietal, and temporal regions relative to right. WAB
repetition scores and bilateral temporal flow were significantly correlated
(P < 0.01). Correlations between visual memory and bilateral temporal
flow and those between Mini-Mental State/ Geriatric Depression Scale scores
and bihemispheric flow approached significance. Although in this study
regional cerebral blood flow was relatively insensitive to neuroanatomical
abnormalities underlying specific cognitive deficits, it may have some
specificity for identifying the language disorder in AD.
