Original Research Article

Metabolic Correlates of Brain Reserve in Dementia with Lewy Bodies: An FDG PET Study
Robert Perneczky^a, Peter Häussermann^{b, d}, Janine Diehl-Schmid^a, Henning Boecker^{c, e}, Hans Förstl^a, Alexander Drzezga^c, Alexander Kurz^a

Departments of
^aPsychiatry and Psychotherapy,
^bNeurology and
^cNuclear Medicine, Technical University Munich, Munich,
^dCentre for Integrative Psychiatry, Kiel, and
^eDepartment of Radiology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2007;23:416-422 (DOI: 10.1159/000101956)

  Key Words

• Brain reserve
• Neuroimaging
• FDG PET
• Education
• Dementia with Lewy bodies

  Abstract

Background: Studies suggest that brain reserve allows patients with more years of schooling to cope better with brain damage. Research has been mainly focussed on Alzheimer's disease and no studies exist on patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The aim of this study was to provide evidence for brain reserve in DLB. Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients with DLB and 16 age-matched healthy controls were included. The participants underwent cerebral ¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging at rest. A group comparison was conducted in SPM2 between the patient and control groups. A linear regression analysis with glucose metabolism as the dependent and years of schooling as the independent variable was performed. Age, gender and a total score of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery were included as covariates into the analysis. Results: The patients showed a significant metabolic reduction in the frontal and posterior association cortices, the basal ganglia and the pulvinar of the thalami. Glucose metabolism and education showed an inverse relationship in an extensive cluster in the left temporo-parieto-occipital cortex. Conclusion: Similar findings were previously reported in Alzheimer's disease and are regarded as evidence for brain reserve. Therefore, we suggest that brain reserve is also present in DLB.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Robert Perneczky, MD
Psychiatrische Klinik der Technischen Universität München
Ismaningerstr. 22
DE-81675 München (Germany)
Tel. +49 89 4140 4279, Fax +49 89 4140 4923, E-Mail robert.perneczky@lrz.tum.de

  Article Information

P.H. and R.P. contributed equally to the manuscript.

Accepted: February 5, 2007
Published online: April 23, 2007
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 3, Number of References : 29