REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW IN FRONTAL-LOBE DEMENTIA OF NON-ALZHEIMER TYPE

Twenty-five out of 26 cases of autopsy-verified frontal lobe degenerat ion of non-Alzheimer type (FLD) were found to have focal frontal or fr ontotemporal blood flow reductions involving both hemispheres. The dev iant case had an asymmetric frontal pathology only apparent on the rig ht side. Focal reduction of blood flow in the frontal lobes is, howeve r, a common and unspecific flow abnormality found in e.g. Pick's disea se, Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease, and in some cases of Alzheimer's dise ase. Low frontal flow has also been reported in schizophrenia and in t oxic encephalopathy. Since a characteristic feature of FLD is a steady progress of the pathology, serial flow measurements extending over se veral years are especially informative.