REGIONAL CEREBRAL GLUCOSE-METABOLISM IN DEMENTIA WITH LEWY BODIES ANDALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY USING POSITRON-EMISSION-TOMOGRAPHY

Regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglc) was studied in 1 9 patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB ) and 19 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD ), using [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose ([F-18]FDG) and positron emission to mography (PET). The two groups were matched with age, gender, disease duration and severity of cognitive disturbances. In 'dementia with Lew y bodies' (DLB) patients, when compared with AD patients, significant rCMRglc decreases were distributed in the temporo-parieto-occipital as sociation cortices and the cerebellar hemispheres. In contrast, the me dial temporal and cingulate rCMRglc were significantly lower in AD pat ients than those in DLB patients. These different regional emphases of glucose hypometabolism are consistent with the pathological and neuro chemical differences between DLB and AD and explain the different clin ical features of the two diseases. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland L td.