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Brain SPECT in subtypes of mild cognitive impairment

Findings from the DESCRIPA multicenter study

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Abstract

The Development of Screening Guidelines and Clinical Criteria of Predementia Alzheimer’s Disease (DESCRIPA) multicenter study enrolled patients with MCI or subjective cognitive complaints (SUBJ), a part of whom underwent optional brain perfusion SPECT. These patients were classified as SUBJ (n = 23), nonamnestic MCI (naMCI; n = 17) and amnestic MCI (aMCI; n = 40) based on neuropsychology. Twenty healthy subjects formed the control (CTR) group. Volumetric regions of interest (VROI) analysis was performed in six associative cortical areas in each hemisphere. ANOVA for repeated measures, corrected for age and center, showed significant differences between groups (p = 0.01) and VROI (p < 0.0001) with a significant group-region interaction (p = 0.029). In the post hoc comparison, SUBJ did not differ from CTR. aMCI disclosed reduced uptake in the left hippocampus and bilateral temporal cortex (compared with CTR) or in the left hippocampus and bilateral parietal cortex (compared with SUBJ). In the naMCI group, reduced VROI values were found in the bilateral temporal cortex and right frontal cortex. In the comparison between aMCI and naMCI, the former had lower values in the left parietal cortex and precuneus. Discriminant analysis between SUBJ/CTR versus all MCI patients allowed correct allocations in 73 % of cases. Mean VROI values were highly correlated (p < 0.0001) with the learning measure of a verbal memory test, especially in the bilateral precunei and parietal cortex and in the left hippocampus. In a subset of 70 patients, mean VROI values showed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) with the white matter hyperintensities score on MRI. In conclusion, MCI subtypes have different perfusion patterns. The aMCI group exhibited a pattern that is typical of early Alzheimer’s disease, while the naMCI group showed a more anterior pattern of hypoperfusion. Instead, a homogeneous group effect was lacking in SUBJ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Dept. of Endocrinological and Medical Sciences, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Flavio Nobili & Guido Rodriguez

  2. IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Neuroimaging, Brescia, Italy

    Giovanni B. Frisoni & Anna Caroli

  3. Centre Memoire de Ressource et de Recherche, Service de Neurologie, CHU Guy de Chauliac, Montpellier, France

    Florence Portet & Jacques Touchon

  4. Dept. of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Frans Verhey & Pieter-Jelle Visser

  5. Dept. of Physics and INFN, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Piero Calvini

  6. Nuclear Medicine Unit, Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Silvia Morbelli

  7. Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy

    Fabrizio De Carli

  8. Nuclear Medicine Unit, Ospedali Riuniti of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy

    Ugo P. Guerra

  9. Dept. of Neurology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Laura A. Van de Pol & Pieter-Jelle Visser

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  1. Flavio Nobili
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  2. Giovanni B. Frisoni
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Correspondence to Flavio Nobili.

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Nobili, F., Frisoni, G.B., Portet, F. et al. Brain SPECT in subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. J Neurol 255, 1344–1353 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-008-0897-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-008-0897-4

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