These images are from a 70 year-old man who began experiencing difficulty with memory
about 9 months prior to imaging. He had a history of atrial fibrillation and was taking
warfarin. He had become lost on several occasions, and had difficulty orienting himself
in unfamiliar circumstances. His performance on a standardized assessment of general
cognitive status (the "mini mental status examination", or MMSE) was normal. MR images
showed globally widened hemispheric sulci, which is more prominent in parietal lobes.
Regional cerebral metabolism is markedly abnormal, with hypometabolism in anterior
temporal and posterior parietal regions. These changes are bilateral, but the right
hemisphere is slightly more affected than the left, and the posterior cingulate is
relatively spared.
|