Role of diffusion tensor imaging in dementia

Background: Dementia, with high morbidity and significant socioeconomic effect, is a debilitating disease of the elderly. Therefore, early diagnosis and early onset of treatment for cases of dementia can greatly decrease the morbidity associated with the disease. And Diffusion Tensor Imaging provides a promising future in this matter. Diffusion Tensor Imaging gives qualitative and quantitative information of the white matter tracts and hence can be useful to detect early micro-structural changes associated with dementia before obvious clinical features are appreciated.Method: Diffusion Tensor Imaging of 50 patients with clinical suspicion of dementia was done SIEMENS 3T MAGNETOM VIDA SCANNER. Results: There was an apparent correlation between the clinical dementia rating score and the FA values in the parahippocampal cingulum and uncinate fasciculus, with higher CDR score showing lower FA values in the above mentioned fibers. Conclusion: Our study showed that Diffusion Tensor Imaging is a very useful tool in the detection of the early microstructural changes seen in dementia even before the obvious clinical symptoms appear and hence aids in early diagnosis and treatment of the disease