Differentiation of the dementias of old age by ultrasonic doppler flowmetry: a pilot study.

At the Bel-Air Psychiatric Clinic, Geneva, Switzerland, the technique of ultrasonic Doppler flowmetry was used to examine the internal carotid arteries of 30 aged patients - 10 with cerebral degenerative dementia, 10 with cerebrovascular dementia, and 10 without dementia. An index of cerebrovascular resistance was calculated. Apparently this index can distinguish a group of vascular dementias from a group of degenerative dementias.