Neuroimaging plays an essential role in the quest for early diagnosis in dementia. This up-to-date, superbly illustrated book examines in detail the diverse imaging techniques and their application in the different types of dementia. After an introductory chapter on the clinical background, the available 'toolbox' of techniques is reviewed, including structural MRI and CT, feature extraction, advanced MR techniques, SPECT and PET. The imaging findings in normal ageing are then discussed, followed by a series of chapters that present and analyze the findings in patients with dementias characterized by gray matter loss, vascular dementia, disorders mainly affecting the white matter, and dementias with associated brain swelling. The final two chapters are devoted to diagnostic algorithms and to disease monitoring. Throughout, a practical approach is adopted, geared specifically to the needs of clinicians working in the field of dementia.
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Clinical background: Definition of dementia. Prevalence and incidence. Nosological approach. Differential diagnosis. Multi-disciplinary integration.- The toolbox: Structural imaging. Feature extraction. Advanced MR techniques. SPECT and PET.- Normal Ageing: Brain volume loss. Enlarged perivascular (Virchow-Robin) spaces and lacunes. Age-related white matter changes. Iron accumulation. Hidden age-related changes in brain tissue.- Primary gray matter loss: Alzheimer's disease. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Dementia with Parkinsonism. Dementia in other movement disorders. Prion-linked dementias. Recreational drugs and alcohol.- Vascular Disease: history and nosology. Large vessel vascular dementia. Small vessel vascular dementia. Vasculitis. Systemic hypoxia. Mixed dementia and interrelationship VaD/AD.- Disorders mainly affecting white matter: Infections. Inflammatory disorders. Inborn errors of metabolism. Toxic leukencephalopathy and dementia. Post-therapy effect. Trauma.- Dementias with associated brain swelling. Giant VRS. Infections. Neoplastic disease and radiation necrosis. Auto-immune limbic encephalitis. Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and fistula (AVF). Reversible posterior leukencephalopathy (RPLS). Anti-amyloid therapy.
