Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that educational level influences regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Methods: The severity of AD was measured with the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (age and education adjusted). rCBF was assessed using 99mTc- hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime brain SPECT; differences in rCBF between groups with different educational levels were determined using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Results: In matched low-education (≤6 y; n = 29) and high-education (>6 y; n = 29) groups, SPM revealed 2 statistically significant clusters of voxels with higher rCBF in the high-education group: one in the left lateral inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyrus; another in the left medial temporal area to the left inferior frontal gyrus. Conclusion: We provide biologic evidence that education may lead to relatively higher rCBF in specific areas in AD patients, which may explain the effects of education on clinical manifestations of AD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1860-1863 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Medicine |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| Publication status | Published - 2004 Nov 1 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging