Cerebral blood flow in corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy

To compare brain perfusion between corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and prog ressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), we investigated regional cerebral blood f low (rCBF) semiquantitatively with single-photon emission computed tomograp hy and [I-123]iodoamphetamine in six patients with CBD and five with PSP. C ompared with 12 age-matched control subjects, the average of the left and r ight rCBF Values for the CBD patients was significantly reduced in the infe rior prefrontal, anterior cingulate, medial premotor, sensorimotor, posteri or parietal, and superior temporal cortices as well as in the basal ganglia and thalamus, whereas only the medial premotor cortex was significantly hy poperfused in the PSP patients. Compared with the PSP patients, the CBD pat ients showed significantly decreased rCBF in the inferior prefrontal, senso rimotor, and posterior parietal cortices, but not in the subcortical region s. Compared with the controls, interhemispheric differences of rCBF were si gnificant in the inferior prefrontal, sensorimotor, and posterior parietal cortices of the CBD patients but in only the medial prefrontal cortex of th e PSP patients. These results indicate that rCBF reductions are more extens ive and asymmetric in CBD than in PSP, although the two diseases share medi al frontal involvement.