title: Can dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging replace single-photon emission computed tomography in the diagnosis of patients with Alzheimer's disease? A pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a cohort of patients examined for suspected dementia, including patients with no objective cognitive impairment (control group), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients, eight with AD, 10 with MCI, and six controls were investigated with SPECT using 99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) and dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) with gadobutrol. Three observers performed a visual interpretation of the SPECT and MR images using a four-point visual scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SPECT was superior to DSC-MRI in differentiating normal from pathological. All three observers showed statistically significant results in discriminating between the control group, AD, and MCI by SPECT, with a P value of 0.0006, 0.04, and 0.01 for each observer. The statistical results were not significant for MR (P values 0.8, 0.1, and 0.2, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DSC-MRI could not replace SPECT in the diagnosis of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Several patient- and method-related improvements should be made before this method can be recommended for clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cavallin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Danielsson
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Oksengard
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Wahlund
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Julin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Engman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kristoffersen Wiberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media