Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
Adding PET or SPECT imaging to the diagnostic algorithm when evaluating dementia may hasten the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, according to research presented earlier this month at the RSNA conference in Chicago.
Researchers from the department of radiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS, correlated Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores with the severity of findings characteristic of Alzheimer's dementia seen in SPECT and PET. The MMSE is a simplified scored form of a cognitive mental exam, and one of the most widely used tools for assessing the severity of dementia.
The researchers examined a group of patients who had undergone either SPECT or PET imaging, and had also taken an MMSE within six months of the physiologic imaging. They compared the five components of the MMSE -- orientation, immediate recall, attention and calculation, recall, and language -- and its composite scores with the severity of imaging findings.
They found that the MMSE was not valuable at all in predicting the severity of imaging results.
As a Molecular Imaging Insider subscriber, you have access to this story before it's published for the rest of our AuntMinnie.com members. To read more about the comparison of the MMSE with SPECT and PET imaging findings, click here.
Also, be sure to check out our coverage of molecular imaging topics from the RSNA conference in the Molecular Imaging Digital Community. The AuntMinnie staff reported on a variety of subjects, from the use of PET/CT in metastatic colon cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and melanoma to the introduction of new 64-slice PET/CT systems.
In addition, if you haven't done so in a while, be sure to take a look at our online reference book, Nuclear Medicine on the Internet. This online e-book, authored by Dr. Scott Williams of Advanced Radiology Consultants in Bridgeport, CT, is updated each month so you're sure to get the latest news on clinical investigations and techniques for the entire spectrum of molecular imaging. You can check out Dr. Williams' most current postings by clicking here.
