title: Temporal lobe asymmetry in patients with Alzheimer's disease with delusions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that delusions are associated with asymmetric involvement of the temporal lobe regions in Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Temporal lobe atrophy was assessed with a linear measure of width of the temporal horn (WTH) taken from CT films. Temporal asymmetry was computed as the right/left (R/L) ratio of the WTH in 22 non-delusional and 19 delusional patients with Alzheimer's disease. Delusional patients had paranoid delusions (of theft, jealousy, persecution). None of the patients had misidentifications or other delusions of non-paranoid content.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The R/L ratio indicated symmetric temporal horn size in the non-delusional (mean 1. 05 (SD 0.20), and right greater than left temporal horn in the delusional patients (mean 1.30, (SD 0.46); t=2.27, df=39, p=0.03). When patients were stratified into three groups according to the R/L ratio, 47% of the delusional (9/19) and 14% of the non-delusional patients (3/21; chi(2)=5.6, df=1, p=0.02) showed right markedly greater than left WTH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Predominantly right involvement of the medial temporal lobe might be a determinant of paranoid delusions in the mild stages of Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Neuroimaging, IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio, FBF, via Pilastroni 4, 25125 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geroldi
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Akkawi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galluzzi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ubezio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Binetti
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zanetti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trabucchi
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Frisoni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001284:Atrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003702:Delusions / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed