LEARN NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Neurology · Case 07
Read the history, inspect the study, then reveal the teaching.
IMAGE PLACEHOLDER · Diagnostic study
Original study · Companion image placeholders
Clinical history
A 59-year-old man presents to the clinic after a recent diagnosis of depression. He adds that he has been having a progressively more difficult time focusing, visual hallucinations, and disorganized speech. FDG PET imaging was performed to differentiate the type of dementia.
Read the images before opening the teaching panel below.
Lewy Body Dementia
Imaging Findings
Decreased metabolic activity within the bilateral temporoparietal lobes with extension into the occipital lobes.
Essential Facts
Behind Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body Dementia is the second most common cause of dementia.
The pattern on imaging is very similar to Alzheimer’s disease; however, in Lewy Body Dementia, there is classically less sparing of the occipital cortex.
References
“Central Nervous System.” Essentials of Nuclear Medicine Imaging, by Fred A. Mettler and Milton J. Guiberteau, Elsevier Saunders, 2012, pp. 71–97.