Regional differences in cerebrovascular reactivity to acetazolamide in Alzheimer's disease

The cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reactivity to acetazolamide wer e investigated in Alzheimer's disease using stable xenon computed tomograph y (CT). Ten patients with Alzheimer's disease and 10 healthy controls were studied. The regional cerebral blood flow was measured using the xenon deli very and analysis system (AZ-7000 model, Anzai Sogyo, Tokyo, Japan) and CT (PreSage, Yokogawa Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan). The subjects inhaled roo m air followed by a mixture of 30% xenon and 50% oxygen for 3 min. Serial s canning was performed once before xenon inhalation, three times in the wash -in process and five times in the washout process of 5 min. The xenon conce ntration in the end-tidal expired gas was recorded continuously by the ther moconductivity method. The regional cerebral blood flow was measured before and 20 min after i.v, injection of 17 mg/kg acetazolamide, The blood flows in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe and temporal robe were reduced but the blood flows in the caudate nucleus, putamen and thalamus were normal in the Alzheimer's disease group. The cerebrovascular reactivity to acetazolamide was reduced in the frontal, parietal and temporal cortex but was normal in the other areas, There is a regional difference in the cerebral blood flow and the cerebrovascular reactivity to acetazolamide in Alzheimer's disease (C) 1999 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.