Neuroimaging of Dementias

Neuroimaging of dementias.

Editorial: Neuroimaging in dementias

Advances in different neuroimaging modalities such as structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), (including FDG-PET and recent amyloid/tau tracers) have changed the role of neuroimaging in the diagnosis of dementias. Instead of only excluding other secondary diagnoses, neuroimaging has become a potential biomarker that evaluates the pathop...

Neuroimaging in neurodegenerative dementias.

Neurodegenerative dementias are characterized by insidious onset and gradual progression of cognitive dysfunction, initially relatively focal with respect to cognitive domains and brain regions involved. Neuroimaging techniques have contributed enormously to both our understanding of large-scale network specificity in neurodegenerative syndromes and our ability to make clinical diagnoses of syn...

Molecular neuroimaging in degenerative dementias.

In the context of the limitations of structural imaging, brain perfusion and metabolism using SPECT and PET have provided relevant information for the study of cognitive decline. The introduction of the radiotracers for cerebral amyloid imaging has changed the diagnostic strategy regarding Alzheimer's disease, which is currently considered to be a "continuum." According to this new paradigm, th...

Neuroimaging of rapidly progressive dementias, part 1: neurodegenerative etiologies.

Most dementias begin insidiously, developing slowly and generally occurring in the elderly age group. The so-called rapidly progressive dementias constitute a different, diverse collection of conditions, many of which are reversible or treatable. For this reason, prompt identification and assessment of acute and subacute forms of dementia are critical to effective treatment. Numerous other enti...