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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Identification of Disease-related Spatial Covariance Patterns using Neuroimaging Data
Published on: June 26, 2013
[Regional correlations between MR imaging perfusion and SPECT in Alzheimer's disease]
J Olazarán1, J Alvarez-Linera, R de Santiago
1CEP Hermanos Sangro, Area I de la Atención Especializada del Insalud, Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain. javier@mariawolff.es
Introduction:
Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) is a magnetic resonance (MR) technique that provides an estimation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) through the obtention of a cerebral blood volume map. As observed with nuclear medicine methods, DSC MR studies have demonstrated a temporoparietal hypoperfusion in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the concurrent validity of DSC and nuclear medicine techniques has not been sufficiently investigated.
Patients And Methods:
A single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and a DSC MR perfusion study were performed consecutively in 14 AD patients. Expert based qualitative assessments of CBF were carried out in eight regions of interest (ROI).
Results:
Level of agreement in the studied ROI was highly variable. Presence of large blood vessels and patient head movement were possibly the main causes of this variability. Nevertheless, when interrater variability was eliminated, intraclass correlation coefficients became more uniform, ranging from 0.32 to 0.71.
Conclusions:
DSC MR imaging was concordant with SPECT at the different cerebral lobes of AD patients. The positive findings should be confirmed under better technical and methodological conditions.
