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IC‐P‐121: Evaluation of cerebral perfusion changes through SPECT in people with mild Alzheimer's disease after a cognitive rehabilitation program
Author(s) -
Paula Edneia,
Coutinho Artur,
Nunes Rafael,
Saran Laura,
Prando Silvana,
Ono Carla,
Buchpiguel Carlos,
Bottino Cassio
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2013.05.118
Subject(s) - statistical parametric mapping , cerebral blood flow , neuroimaging , medicine , voxel , physical therapy , placebo , cognition , single photon emission computed tomography , physical medicine and rehabilitation , nuclear medicine , psychology , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging , pathology , psychiatry , alternative medicine
Background: Efficient and broadly available therapeutic interventions are urgently needed for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The impact of non-pharmacologic therapies on the course of AD has been object of discussion, wh ether they may or may not have an important role in the management of the disease. However, it is still challenging to quantify and describe the results of those approaches under a neurobiological interpretation. Functional neuroimaging methods, such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), may be useful to evaluate the impact of Cognitive Rehabilitation Programs (CRP) in AD. Our goal was to analyze and quantify the possible changes of CRP in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients withmild AD, using technetium-99m-ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) SPECT, and compare the results with those of placebo (sham intervention). Methods: It was included 14 patients (pts) with mild AD (CDR1⁄4 0.5 and 1) receiving standard pharmacological treatment. They were divided in two groups: Group I comprised by six pts who joined a cognitive and functional training program, having 60 minutes sessions twice a week for 3 months (24 sessions) and Group II of eight pts who joined 60 minutes placebo entertainment activities twice a week for the same period of time. All underwent brain SPECT imaging before and after the intervention. Data were compared in a voxel by voxel basis with the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8) software. Results: Pts characteristics were (mean 6SD): mean age (yr) 1⁄4 7466; schooling (yr) 1⁄4 864; MMSE Scores 1⁄4 2463. No difference between groups was observed in the above mentioned parameters.SPM analysis of the baseline SPECT showed no difference between groups (p uncorrected>0.05). CRP did not produce any significant changes in rCBF in the present sample of patients, in comparison to the placebo group. Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggest that SPECT was not able to show any change in brain relative perfusion after 3 months of CRP in comparison to a placebo group.