Surface Feature-Guided Mapping of Cerebral Metabolic Changes in Cognitively Normal and Mildly Impaired Elderly

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal positron emission tomography (PET) metabolic changes in the elderly. PROCEDURES: Nineteen nondemented subjects (mean Mini-Mental Status Examination 29.4 ± 0.7 SD) underwent two detailed neuropsychological evaluations and resting 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG)-PET scan (interval 21.7 ± 3.7 months), baseline structural 3T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and apolipoprotein E4 genotyping. Cortical PET metabolic changes were analyzed in 3-D using the cortical pattern matching technique. RESULTS: Baseline vs. follow-up whole-group comparison revealed significant metabolic decline bilaterally in the posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes and the left lateral frontal cortex. The declining group demonstrated 10–15% decline in bilateral posterior cingulate/precuneus, posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices. The cognitively stable group showed 2.5–5% similarly distributed decline. ApoE4-positive individuals underwent 5–15% metabolic decline in the posterior association cortices. CONCLUSIONS: Using 3-D surface-based MR-guided FDG-PET mapping, significant metabolic changes were seen in five posterior and the left lateral frontal regions. The changes were more pronounced for the declining relative to the cognitively stable group.