Clinicopathological and ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT correlations in patients with dementia

The relationship between clinicopathologic diagnosis and ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT in 18 patients with dementia (12 with Lewy body disease) from one center in the United States was assessed. The sensitivity and specificity of abnormal ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT with reduced striatal uptake on visual inspection for predicting Lewy body disease were 91.7% and 83.3%, respectively. The mean calculated putamen to occipital ratio (mPOR) based on regions of interest was significantly reduced in Lewy body disease compared to non-Lewy body disease cases (P = 0.002). In this study, abnormal ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT was strongly associated with underlying Lewy body disease pathology, supporting the utility of ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT in the clinical diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies.