Mayo Clinic Study Using Structural MRI May Help Accurately Diagnose Dementia Patients

Mayo Clinic Study Using Structural MRI May Help Accurately Diagnose Dementia
Patients

ROCHESTER, Minn., July 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new Mayo Clinic study
may help physicians differentially diagnose three common neurodegenerative
disorders in the future. The study will be presented at the Alzheimer's
Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease on July 11 in
Vienna.

In this study, Mayo Clinic researchers developed a framework for MRI-based
differential diagnosis of three common neurodegenerative disorders:
Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and Lewy body disease
using Structural MRI. Currently, examination of the brain at autopsy is the
only way to confirm with certainty that a patient had a specific form of
dementia. The framework, which is called "STructural Abnormality iNDex" or
STAND-Map, shows promise in accurately diagnosing dementia patients while they
are alive. The rationale is that if each neurodegenerative disorder can be
associated with a unique pattern of atrophy specific on MRI, then it may be
possible to differentially diagnose new patients. The study looked at 90
patients from the Mayo Clinic database who were confirmed to have only a
single dementia pathology and also underwent an MRI at the time of clinical
diagnosis of dementia. Using the STAND-Map framework, researchers predicted an
accurate pathological diagnosis 75 to 80 percent of the time.

"The STAND-Map framework might have great potential in early diagnosis of
dementia patients," says Prashanthi Vemuri, Ph.D., a senior research fellow at
the Mayo Clinic aging and dementia imaging research lab and lead author of the
study. "The next step would be to test the framework on a larger population to
see if we can replicate these results and improve the accuracy level we
achieved in this proof of concept study. In turn, this may lead to better
treatment options for dementia patients."

The senior author of this Mayo Clinic research study is Clifford Jack, M.D.
Other members included Kejal Kantarci, M.D.; Matthew L. Senjem; Jeffrey
Gunter; Jennifer Whitwell, Ph.D.; Keith Josephs, M.D.; David Knopman, M.D.;
Bradley Boeve, M.D.; Tanis Ferman, Ph.D.; Dennis Dickson, M.D.; and Ronald
Petersen, Ph.D., M.D.

This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants,
Robert H. Smith Family Foundation Research Fellowship, Alexander Family
Alzheimer's Disease Research Professorship.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice
in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for
patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the
patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers
and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in
Rochester, Minn; Jacksonville, Fla; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.
Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each
year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to
www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education visit
www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource
for your health stories.

SOURCE Mayo Clinic

Karl Oestreich of Mayo Clinic, +1-507-284-5005 (days), +1-507-284-2511
(evenings), newsbureau@mayo.edu