This is a 52 year-old woman who started having difficulty calculating her monthly bills beginning at age 42. She developed personality changes, problems with short-term memory loss and even had difficulty reading a watch by age 46. She had to stop working as a hairdresser and go on disability at age 48 and was placed in a nursing home by age 50. On exam, she produced no intelligible speech and followed nothing but the most simple commands (‘stand’ or ‘sit’). She paced about the room frequently seldom making eye contact.
This PET CT study demonstrated almost complete absence of blood flow to most of the surface of the brain with the exception of the very posterior portion of both hemispheres (occipital cortex). This part of the brain is responsible for interpreting vision. In addition, there are some ‘islands’ neurons deep in the white matter responsible for processing incoming sensory information called the thalamus. This study shows that the thalami were healthy. This is compatible with end-stage dementia. It’s impossible to speculate at the underlying disease (Alzheimer’s, Pick’s Disease, Primary Progressive Aphasia, etc) based on this imaging study as the disease is too advanced.
PET CT
This PET CT study demonstrated almost complete absence of blood flow to most of the surface of the brain with the exception of the very posterior portion of both hemispheres (occipital cortex). This part of the brain is responsible for interpreting vision. In addition, there are some ‘islands’ neurons deep in the white matter responsible for processing incoming sensory information called the thalamus. This study shows that the thalami were healthy. This is compatible with end-stage dementia. It’s impossible to speculate at the underlying disease (Alzheimer’s, Pick’s Disease, Primary Progressive Aphasia, etc) based on this imaging study as the disease is too advanced.
PET CT
DIAGNOSIS: End-stage Dementia
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