title: The MRI pattern of frontal and temporal brain atrophy in fronto-temporal dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare patterns of brain atrophy in fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) since atrophy in individual areas may not be sufficiently specific as diagnostic marker.
  
  
  METHODS
  Frontal, temporal and hippocampal atrophy was measured from MRI of 10 FTD patients, 27 AD, and 27 controls. Corrected atrophy and asymmetry were computed (W-scores).
  
  
  RESULTS
  FTD had mild atrophy in the hippocampus (average W-score=-1.3), severe in the frontal (W-score=-2.4) and very severe in the temporal lobes (W-score=-2.9). AD had moderate atrophy in the hippocampus and temporal lobes (W-score=-1.8 and -1.9, respectively), and very mild frontal atrophy (W-score=-0.9). Atrophy was more asymmetrical in FTD (left more atrophic) than in AD patients, particularly in the temporal lobes. A discriminant function including the asymmetry values of frontal and temporal regions could separate FTD from AD with 90% sensitivity and 93% specificity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FTD is characterized by a specific pattern of atrophy, more useful than atrophy of single regions in the differential diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Neuroimaging, IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio, FBF, via Pilastroni 4, I-25125, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boccardi
authors.forename: Mikko P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Laakso
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bresciani
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galluzzi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geroldi
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beltramello
authors.forename: Hilkka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soininen
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Frisoni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001284:Atrophy / Q000209:etiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*