Inferior Parietal Cortex Hypoperfusion is the Most Specific Imaging Marker for AD Patients With Positive CSF Biomarker Assays in a Memory Clinic in France.

The diagnostic accuracy of hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAo) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in Alzheimer disease (AD) remains undetermined in a "real-life" clinical population. The objective was to determine the HMPAo SPECT hypoperfusion pattern in cognitively impaired patients with positive CSF AD biomarker and to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy. This study included 120 patients referred to a university memory clinic assessed using HMPAo SPECT, MRI, and CSF biomarkers. Three biomarker signatures suggestive of AD were analyzed (1, Aß1-42; 2, Aß1-42+t-tau and/or p-tau; 3, Aß1-42/p-tau). The clinical diagnoses were possible AD (n=29) or other causes of cognitive impairment (n=91). All CSF AD signatures were significantly (1, P=0.004; 2, P=0.017; 3, P=0.024) associated with the difference between inferior parietal perfusion and lateral dorsal frontal cortex perfusion. The hypoperfusion pattern discriminated between patients with positive CSF AD biomarkers and those with other cognitive impairments with a sensitivity of 67% to 71% and a specificity of 63% to 65% and a greatest negative predictive value (NPV) of 90%. Inferior parietal cortex hypoperfusion was the most sensitive and specific feature in AD patients diagnosed using clinical and CSF biomarker criteria. This hypoperfusion pattern was associated with an NPV of 90% and therefore discriminated sharply between AD and other cognitive disorders.