The role of brain perfusion SPECT in the diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia: A systematic review

Background and Purpose Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of presenile dementia. The clinical distinction between FTD, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other dementias is a clinical challenge. Brain perfusion SPECT may contribute to the diagnosis of FTD, but its value is...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neuroimaging 2024-05, Vol.34 (3), p.308-319
Main Authors: Athanasio, Bruno S., Oliveira, Ana Cecília de Sena, Pedrosa, Ana Luísa, Borges, Rafael S., Neto, Avelar O. M., Oliveira, Rafael A., Resende, Elisa de Paula França, Moraes, Renata Freire, Caramelli, Paulo, Souza, Leonardo Cruz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer's disease
Brain
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Dementia
Dementia disorders
Diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic systems
Differential diagnosis
Female
Frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia - diagnostic imaging
Humans
Neurodegenerative diseases
Perfusion
perfusion imaging
Perfusion Imaging - methods
Prevalence
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
SPECT
Systematic review
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon - methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background and Purpose Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of presenile dementia. The clinical distinction between FTD, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other dementias is a clinical challenge. Brain perfusion SPECT may contribute to the diagnosis of FTD, but its value is unclear. Methods We performed a systematic review to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the brain SPECT in (1) distinguishing FTD from AD and other dementias and (2) differentiating FTD variants. Results Overall, 391 studies were retrieved on the initial search and 35 studies composed the final selection, comprising a total number of 3142 participants of which 1029 had FTD. The sensitivity and the specificity for the differential diagnosis of FTD versus AD ranged from 56% to 88% and from 51% to 93%, respectively. SPECT is not superior to the clinical method of diagnosis, but the combination of SPECT with clinical data seems to improve the diagnostic accuracy. Conclusion Brain perfusion SPECT has a limited value in the diagnostic framework of FTD. SPECT can be performed when FDG‐PET is not available. SPECT is recommended only for selected cases when the diagnosis is challenging using conventional methods.
ISSN:1051-2284
1552-6569
DOI:10.1111/jon.13189