Seminars in Nuclear Medicine
Volume 33, Issue 1 , Pages 77-85, January 2003

Positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography brain imaging in the evaluation of dementia

  • Ronald L. Van Heertum

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
    • Harlem Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to Ronald L. Van Heertum, MD, Department of Radiology, Harkness Pavilion, 3rd Floor, Room 319, 180 Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY 10032.
    • ,
  • Ronald S. Tikofsky

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
    • Harlem Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA

Article Outline

The role of PET and SPECT brain imaging in the initial assessment and differential diagnosis of dementia is beginning to evolve rapidly. Numerous studies confirm the value of functional brain imaging, particularly with FDG-PET imaging, as a potentially cost-effective means of establishing an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Such an approach should allow for a more objective means of establishing which patients will benefit from treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors. In the future, neuroreceptor and plaque burden imaging studies should further enhance the sensitivity and specificity of dementia detection and patient management.

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PII: S0001-2998(03)80007-7

doi:10.1053/snuc.2003.127294

Seminars in Nuclear Medicine
Volume 33, Issue 1 , Pages 77-85, January 2003

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