Normal distribution of regional cerebral blood flow measured by dynamic single-photon emission tomography.

Regional CBF (rCBF) was measured quantitatively using the inert-gas washout technique with xenon-133 and single-photon emission computed tomography. Tomographic data were reconstructed by filtered back projection, and flow was calculated according to the double-integral method. Ninety-seven subjects ranging in age from 20 to 59 years received a single examination; eight of these received a second examination within 1 h of the first; seven others received a second examination separated from the first by 1-10 days. Transverse-section images were obtained at 2, 6, and 10 cm above and parallel to the canthomeatal line (CML). Cortical gray matter flows were obtained from 12 brain regions in the slice 6 cm above the CML, and cerebellar and inferior cerebral gray matter flows were obtained from 4 regions in the slice 2 cm above the CML. Mean gray matter flow was 72 +/- 12 ml/min/100 g, with highest flows in the parietal lobes and visual cortex. No significant differences in rCBF occurred when a second study followed the first by 30 min to 10 days. Right-sided rCBF was slightly higher than left in all regions except frontal and parietal lobes where there was no difference. Flow was higher in women than in men and declined mildly with age for both sexes (slope = -0.33 ml/min/100 g/year; p less than 0.05).

SPECT study of regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer disease.

A common cause of dementia in late midlife and old age is Alzheimer disease (AD), which affects more than one in 20 individuals over the age of 65. Past studies of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with AD here suggested blood flow abnormalities, but findings have differed. We have studied 37 patients diagnosed as having AD with inhalation and washout of 133Xe and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), obtaining evidence of abnormal rCBF patterns in 19. Flow reductions were most common in the temporoparietal regions and were occasionally found in the frontal areas. Investigators using positron-emission tomography (PET) have identified similar findings with respect to rCBF and regional oxygen, glucose, and protein metabolism. The SPECT determination of rCBF, which gives information similar to that provided by PET, may assume importance in the diagnosis of AD and in the differential diagnosis of the dementias.