FDG-PET Imaging of Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease.

Dementia syndromes present a diagnostic challenge given their overlapping clinical features and insidious presentations. Cerebral 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoroglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging modality commonly used in the evaluation of dementia. While its role in the clinical assessment of dementia is evolving, FDG PET allows for qualitative and quantitative characterization of major dementia syndromes and variants by means of detecting distinct patterns of cortical hypometabolism. Familiarity with these "metabolic signatures" in dementia syndromes can be helpful when interpreting cerebral FDG PET.