Psychosis of Alzheimer's disease: Gender differences in regional perfusion

Abstract

We sought to determine whether the presence of psychotic symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease is associated with abnormal regional cerebral function. Perfusion single photon emission computed tomography images from 51 AD patients with psychotic symptoms were compared to images of 52 AD patients without such symptoms. Group comparisons were made with a voxel-based method, Statistical Parametric Mapping. We found that perfusion was lower in female patients with psychotic symptoms in right infero-lateral prefrontal cortex and in inferior temporal regions compared to female patients without such symptoms. In contrast, perfusion was higher in male patients with psychotic symptoms in the right striatum compared to male patients without such symptoms. Comparison groups did not differ in age or in dementia severity, as estimated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). These results support the role of right hemisphere prefrontal and lateral temporal cortex in the psychosis of AD in women but not in men, and raise the possibility that these dysfunctional processes have a gender-specific regional pathophysiology in AD.