Multimodality Imaging of Neurodegenerative Processes: Part 2, Atypical Dementias

The purpose of this article is to describe the role of multimodality imaging in the evaluation of atypical neurodegenerative conditions. An imaging approach to the more common dementia disease processes was described in part 1. This article, part 2, briefly discusses current Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services coverage for imaging patients with dementia and illustrates the basic concepts of combining anatomic, metabolic, and amyloid imaging in the evaluation of patients with atypical neurodegenerative dementia. Although these disease processes are rare, the growing repertoire of clinically available imaging techniques necessitates an understanding of their imaging patterns.

Despite the rarity of these conditions, imaging of patients with neurodegenerative disorders is on the rise, and familiarity with the imaging appearances of these atypical causes is increasingly important.