2 research outputs found
Neuroimaging Findings in Mild Cognitive Impairment
The clinical construct of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) identifies a syndrome
of cognitive deficit which is not significant enough to interfere with daily activities,
whose fate is unpredictable without establishing the underlying cause. Thus,
MCI, though being the natural \u201creservoir\u201d of subsequent dementing neurodegenerative
diseases, can be provoked by a variety of psychiatric and systemic diseases
as well as by drugs, alcohol, and substance abuse. In this context,
morphological and, especially, functional neuroimaging by means of multitracer
SPECT and PET are useful tools to provide clue information on the underlying
pathological process. Both MRI and SPECT/PET have been included as indicative
or supportive biomarkers in the diagnostic criteria of a variety of neurodegenerative
conditions, already at the MCI stage, ranging from Alzheimer\u2019s
disease to dementia with Lewy bodies and to frontotemporal dementia. New
developments include MRI high-field equipment and functional techniques, fluorinated
PET radiopharmaceuticals for protein Tau detection, and receptor studies.
In the advanced memory clinics, appropriate use of neuroimaging is
nowadays paramount for the correct diagnosis of cognitive disorders