REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-VOLUME MEASURED BY DYNAMIC SUSCEPTIBILITY CONTRAST MR-IMAGING IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - A PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS-ANALYSIS

Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI is an alternative to positro n emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomogr aphy (SPECT) for the evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics in patients w ith Alzheimer's disease. DSC MRI allows the construction of high resol ution images of cerebral blood volume (CBV) without the use of radionu clides or ionizing radiation, In this study, DSC MRI data were collect ed from 16 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease and 16 age-match ed control subjects. Characteristic patterns of regional CBV variation were found using principal component analysis. Three such patterns we re identified: a global variation pattern, an anterior-to-posterior CB V gradient, and a temporoparietal pattern. Group differences in the pr incipal component scores associated with the global and temporoparieta l patterns (P = .08 and P = .007, respectively) suggest that these def icits reflect characteristic CBV abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease. Using only these two scores, the Alzheimer's disease group was classi fied with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 88%, Additionally, disease severity, as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (I MMSE), was correlated significantly with the third principal component score (Pearson's r = .50, P = .05).