Abstract
Background: The study aimed to investigate the relationships between F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F)FDG uptake and neuropsychological assessment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: We evaluated 116 subjects with AD according to the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. All the subjects underwent a brain PET/CT with (18F)FDG, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assay, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and further neuropsychological tests: Rey auditory verbal learning test, immediate recall (RAVLT immediate); Rey auditory verbal learning test, delayed recall (RAVLT, delayed); Rey complex figure test, copy (RCFT, copy); Rey complex figure test, delayed recall (RCFT, delayed); Raven’s colored progressive matrices (RCPM); phonological word fluency test (PWF) and Stroop test. We performed the statistical analysis by using statistical parametric mapping (SPM12; Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, London, UK). Results: A significant relationship has been reported between (18F)FDG uptake and RAVLT immediate test in Brodmann area (BA)37 and BA22 and with RCFT, copy in BA40, and BA7. We did not find any significant relationships with other tests. Conclusion: In the AD population, brain (18F)FDG uptake is moderately related to the neuropsychological assessment, suggesting a limited impact on statistical data analysis of glucose brain metabolism.
Highlights
Subjective memory deficit, together with evidence of memory decline and cognitive impairment during the past months or few years, are key features for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) already at the prodromal stage [1]
The present study aimed to evaluate the brain metabolic correlates of the main indices of neuropsychological assessment by studying their relationships to cortical and subcortical F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F)FDG uptake in a cohort of subjects with AD
We considered significant a cluster extension of more than 125 (5 × 5 × 5 voxels, i.e., 11 × 11 × 11 mm) contiguous voxels, based on the calculation of the partial volume effect resulting from the spatial resolution of the PET camera, as described in previous papers of the same research group [13].The resulting statistical parametric mapping (SPM) data was correlated to each index of neuropsychological assessment, in order to study their relationships to cortical and subcortical (18F)FDG uptake
Summary
Subjective memory deficit, together with evidence of memory decline and cognitive impairment during the past months or few years, are key features for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) already at the prodromal (or mild cognitive impairment; MCI) stage [1]. Cognitive decline in AD, generally assessed by neuropsychological battery [4], is postulated as consequential from neurological pathology as portrayed by biomarkers [5], but the specificity of these associations is still a matter of debate [6]. It is tempting to presume neurological substrates causing poor performance at a common neuropsychological assessment, the substrates underlying the cognitive process may be reorganized in the diseased brain of patients with MCI, possibly due to neurodegenerative changes or functional compensation. It is important to understand how these biomarkers, interact to influence cognitive change to isolate the combination of pathologies that contribute most to decline, in order to inform the clinical utility and validation of cognitive tests [5] and the neuroimaging correlates to test performance. The study aimed to investigate the relationships between F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F)FDG uptake and neuropsychological assessment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Conclusion: In the AD population, brain (18F)FDG uptake is moderately related to the neuropsychological assessment, suggesting a limited impact on statistical data analysis of glucose brain metabolism
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