Relevance of functional neuroimaging in the progression of mild cognitive impairment.

Aim: To assess whether combining neuropsychological tests and cerebral blood flow markers improves progression accuracy from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) than each of them on its own.

Methods: Forty-two patients were investigated prospectively, undergoing baseline and 3-year follow-up neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging with Tc-ECD-SPECT. Twenty-one patients had developed AD while 21 retained their initial diagnosis.

Regional cerebral blood flow assessed with 99mTc-ECD SPET as a marker of progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

Patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, not all such patients develop this kind of dementia. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess whether regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns measured with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission tomography ((99m)Tc-ECD SPET) in patients suffering from MCI are useful in predicting progression to AD.