What can imaging tell us about cognitive impairment and dementia?

Abstract

Dementia is a contemporary global health issue with far reaching consequences, not only for affected individuals and their families, but for national and global socio-economic conditions. The hallmark feature of dementia is that of irreversible cognitive decline, usually affecting memory, and impaired activities of daily living. Advances in healthcare worldwide have facilitated longer life spans, increasing the risks of developing cognitive decline and dementia in late life. Dementia remains a clinical diagnosis. The role of structural and molecular neuroimaging in patients with dementia is primarily supportive role rather than diagnostic, American and European guidelines recommending imaging to exclude treatable causes of dementia, such as tumor, hydrocephalus or intracranial haemorrhage, but also to distinguish between different dementia subtypes, the commonest of which is Alzheimer’s disease. However, this depends on the availability of these imaging techniques at individual centres. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, such as functional connectivity MRI, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and molecular imaging techniques, such as 18F fluoro-deoxy glucose positron emission tomography (PET), amyloid PET, tau PET, are currently within the realm of dementia research but are available for clinical use. Increasingly the research focus is on earlier identification of at risk preclinical individuals, for example due to family history. Intervention at the preclinical stages before irreversible brain damage occurs is currently the best hope of reducing the impact of dementia.

Keywords: Dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; Magnetic resonance imaging; Molecular imaging; Frontotemporal dementia; Lewy body dementia; Vascular dementia

Core tip: Dementia is a clinical diagnosis that cannot be made on imaging. Structural and molecular imaging techniques are useful to identify the likely underlying neuropathology. Neuroimaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT) and blood flow single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are routinely used in clinical practice in all newly diagnosed dementia patients. Structural imaging with CT or magnetic resonance imaging is useful in suspected frontotemporal dementia. Amyloid positron emission tomography imaging has recently been introduced into clinical practice and is likely to be most useful in early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Dopamine transporter imaging with iodine-123-b-carbo-methoxy-3-b-(4-iodophenyltropane) fluropropyl SPECT has been firmly established in clinical practice to support a diagnosis of Lewy body disease. This article is a review of the imaging techniques not only currently in clinical use but also the emerging imaging techniques in research.