RESEARCH ARTICLE


Differential Patterns of Hypoperfusion in Subtypes of Mild Cognitive Impairment



Paolo Caffarra1, 2, Caterina Ghetti3, Letizia Concari1, Annalena Venneri*, 2
1 Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy
2 Clinical Neuroscience Centre, University of Hull, UK
3 Fisica Sanitaria, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, Parma, Italy


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Creative Commons License
© Caffarra et al; Licensee Bentham Open

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Clinical Neuroscience Centre, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK; E-mail: a.venneri@hull.ac.uk


Abstract

In this study the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) pattern of three Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subtypes was measured with SPECT in 60 patients (nineteen with an amnestic deficit, sixteen with disexecutive deficits, and twenty five with mild multidomain deficits) and compared with that of 15 healthy matched older adults.

The amnestic MCI subgroup showed significant hypoperfusion in the left hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and fronto-parieto-temporal areas. The disexecutive subgroup had significant hypoperfusion of the left superior, medial frontal and cingulate cortex. The multidomain subgroup had similar perfusion deficits to the amnestic subgroup, with an additional deficit in the left posterior cingulate gyrus.

This study found differential patterns of hypoperfusion in MCI subtypes. Since all patients who progressed to dementia converted to probable Alzheimer’s disease, the different rCBF patterns most likely reflect the neuropathological heterogeneity at onset and differences in disease stage.

Keywords: Mild Cognitive Impairment, SPECT, cerebral blood flow, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia.