title: Neuroimaging in dementia.
abstract: Over the last few years, advances in neuroimaging have generated biomarkers, which increase diagnostic certainty, provide valuable information about prognosis, and suggest a particular pathology underlying the clinical dementia syndrome. We aim to review the evidence for use of already established imaging modalities, along with selected techniques that have a great potential to guide clinical decisions in the future. We discuss structural, functional and molecular imaging, focusing on the most common dementias: Alzheimer's disease, fronto-temporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and vascular dementia. Finally, we stress the importance of conducting research using representative cohorts and in a naturalistic set up, in order to build a strong evidence base for translating imaging methods for a National Health Service. If we assess a broad range of patients referred to memory clinic with a variety of imaging modalities, we will make a step towards accumulating robust evidence and ultimately closing the gap between the dramatic advances in neurosciences and meaningful clinical applications for the maximum benefit of our patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.
authors.forename: Vyara
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valkanova
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK. Electronic address: klaus.ebmeier@psych.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Klaus P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ebmeier
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D059906:Neuroimaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Fronto-temporal dementia; Lewy body dementia; PET; Vascular dementia