Relationship between delusions and regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease.
To investigate the association between delusions and cerebral functional deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we evaluated probable AD patients with and without delusions.


METHODS
Functional brain imaging was performed by single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m-labeled ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) in 64 AD patients and 76 age-matched normal healthy volunteers. SPECT data were analyzed by statistical parametric mapping.


RESULTS
In AD patients, no differences were found in age and cognitive activities between those with (n = 25) and without (n = 39) delusions. Compared with normal healthy volunteers, AD patients had significantly decreased perfusion in the posterior cingulate gyri, precunei, and parietal association cortex. Moreover, in the patients with delusions, perfusion was significantly decreased in the frontal lobe with right side dominance. In the comparison between the patients with and without delusions, the patients with delusions had significantly decreased perfusion in the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyri, inferior to middle temporal cortices, and parietal cortex of the right hemisphere (p < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The functional deficits in the right hemisphere may be the cause of delusions in AD.
Nakano
Seigo
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. seigo-n@fukuoka-u.ac.jp
Yamashita
Fumio
F
Matsuda
Hiroshi
H
Kodama
Chiine
C
Yamada
Tatsuo
T
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D003702:Delusions / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; C059659:technetium Tc 99m bicisate; D003545:Cysteine