[Asymmetry of cerebral blood flow in patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type by SPECT using I-123 IMP].

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was determined by single photon emission CT (SPECT) with N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine in 22 patients with clinically diagnosed senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and in 18 age matched controls. We calculated asymmetry indices (AIs) of rCBF for matched right-left regions of interest. rCBF of parietal lobe in SDAT patients was significantly most laterally asymmetrical, but the least in occipital lobe. Lateral asymmetry of rCBF in SDAT patients correlated with asymmetry of language and visuospatial functions; decreased rCBF in the left parietal lobe was associated with language dysfunction, and that in the right parietal lobe, with visuospatial dysfunction. Furthermore cerebellar AIs correlated negatively with those of the cerebral hemisphere and lower frontal region in SDAT patients. The results demonstrate that rCBF measurement by 123I-IMP SPECT is useful to detect lateral asymmetry in reduction of rCBF in SDAT.