Title:Association between Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Mini-Mental State Examination Score in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
VOLUME: 16 ISSUE: 10
Author(s):Hitoshi Saito , Ikuo Kashiwakura*, Megumi Tsushima and Yasushi Mariya
Affiliation:Department of Radiology, Akita Kousei Medical Center, Akita, Department of Radiological Life Science, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Science, Hirosaki, Aomori, Department of Radiological Life Science, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Science, Hirosaki, Aomori, Depatrment of Radiology, Mutsu General Hospital, Mutsu, Aomori
Keywords:Cerebral blood flow, Alzheimer's disease, mini-mental state examination, brodmann area, retrosplenial cortex, statistical
analysis.
Abstract:
Background: In patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cerebral blood flow (CBF) is
decreased from the early stages. CBF in AD is currently estimated from Z-scores using statistical
analysis. However, the Z-score is not considered the impaired area ratio.
Methods: In the present study, a novel indicator, ΣzS, associated with brain surface area and Zscores,
is defined and the association with regional CBF has been estimated using Mini-Mental State
Examination (MMSE) scores, which indicate the severity of cognitive impairment in patients with
AD.
Results: A negative correlation was detected between ΣzS in the posterior cingulate gyrus and the
subset numbers 1, 2, and 5 of the total MMSE scores. Furthermore, a negative correlation was detected
between the total MMSE score and ΣzS in Brodmann area 30, which is a subdivided area of
the brain.
Conclusion: These results suggest that ΣzS may be a useful indicator of CBF metabolism, and thus
may improve the current understanding of cognitive function in patients with AD.
