Elder Care Guide and Information

A collaborative multi-institutional research study has been able to accurately classify different types of dementia using PET scanners.

Until now, scientists have not been able to look deep within the brain to differentiate different types of dementia. The new research enabled scientists to develop standardized disease specific patterns from which they correctly classified dementia 94% of the time.

The study, reported in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, measured the the amount of sugar the brain uses to fuel its activities in different parts of the brain. The PET scan can pinpoint the areas of the brain where sugar (in the form of glucose) utilization was below normal.

The research focused on three types of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Each disease affects a different area of the brain. Since the PET scan could identify the type of dementia based on where in the brain sugar utilization was diminished.

Researchers believe the ability ability to differentiated the usage of glucose may lead to an earlier and more accurate diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) which would lead to better disease management.

Dementia can take several years to develop to it’s debilitating stage. The ability to accurately detect the type of dementia early will allow earlier more effective treatment and empower those with the disease to make important lifestyle decisions that would give them better control of their future.

Filed under: Technology, Alzheimer's Disease