99mTC-HMPAO-SPECT related to clinical findings in patients with subjective experience of memory deficit

In English Objective. The aim was to evaluate cognitive impairments, psychiatric symptoms and cerebral blood flow (CBF) patterns in middle-aged and younger old patients with subjective experience of memory deficits.
Methods. The CBF was measured by 99m-Tc-HMPAO-SPECT. The study group was heterogeneous with patients fulfilling criteria for dementia (n=13) and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n= 24) as well as with not verified cognitive impairment (Non-MCI; n=17). The MCI patients were subdivided into two groups. The MCI type 1 group (n=14) had isolated memory impairments while the MCI type 2 group (n=10) had memory impairments together with slight verbal and/or visuospatial disturbances.
Results. The MCI type 1 group showed lower blood flow in the left middle/inferior gyrus and in parts of the left inferior parietal lobe compared to the Non-MCI group. The MCI type 2 group showed reductions in the left anterior medial temporal lobe as well as in parts of the posterior cingulate gyrus. The Non-MCI patients reported high incidence (70%) of long-lasting psychosocial stress.
Conclusions. The combination of clinical and CBF data provides diagnostically meaningful information about regional brain dysfunction in patients with memory deficits.