Dementia MRI

Dementia Microchapters
Patient Information
Overview
Classification
Causes Alzheimer's Disease Parkinson's Disease Binswanger's Disease Dementia with Lewy bodies Thiamine deficiency Vascular dementia Marijuana abuse AIDS Neurosyphilis Normal pressure hydrocephalus Vitamin B12 deficiency Vitamin B6 deficiency
Differential Diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: ,Sabeeh Islam, MBBS[2]

Overview

A MRI is commonly performed, although this modality (as is noted below) may not have optimal sensitivity for the diffuse metabolic changes associated with dementia in a patient who shows no gross neurological problems (such as paralysis or weakness) on neurological exam. MRI may suggest normal pressure hydrocephalus, a potentially reversible cause of dementia, and can yield information relevant to other types of dementia, such as infarction (stroke) that would point at a vascular type of dementia.

Asymmetric cortical atrophy is often observed in neurodegenerative dementias and sometimes manifests as disproportionate impairments in the functions mediated by the more atrophic regions.

MRI

MRI is preferred imaging modality in patients of dementia compared to CT. In most of the cases, MRI shows almost the same findings as that of CT which usually include ventriculomegaly, cerebral atrophy, microhemorrhages, and ischemic cerebrovascular disease. With MRI, there is less exposure to radiations compared to CT.