Correlation between both morphologic and functional changes and anxiety in Alzheimer's disease
Kenji Tagai1, Tomoyuki Nagata, Shunichiro Shinagawa
1Department of Psychiatry, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Introduction:
Although anxiety symptoms are often observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), little attention has been paid to this symptom compared with other neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Methods:
Twenty-six patients with mild AD underwent both magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission tomography with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Scale (Behave-AD). We investigated the relationship between anxiety and neuroimaging using Statistical Parametric Mapping 8 software.
Results:
The Behave-AD anxiety score was correlated with hyperperfusion in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortices and a reduction in the gray matter volume in the right precuneus and inferior parietal lobule.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that anxiety in AD could overlap with the neural correlates of anxiety disorders, and that the specific degeneration associated with AD might be associated with anxiety.
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