This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to propose new criteria for differentiating Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-negative from PiB-positive subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) using clinical and MRI variables.
Methods: We measured brain amyloid deposition using PiB-PET in 77 patients with SVaD. All patients met DSM-IV criteria for vascular dementia and had severe white matter hyperintensities on MRI, defined as a cap or band ≥10 mm as well as a deep white matter lesion ≥25 mm. Eleven models were considered to differentiate PiB(−) from PiB(+) SVaD using 4 variables, including age, number of lacunes, medial temporal atrophy (MTA), and APOE ε4. The ideal cutoff values in each of the 11 models were selected using the highest Youden index.
Results: A total of 49 of 77 patients (63.6%) tested negative for PiB retention, while 28 (36.4%) tested positive for PiB retention. The ideal model for differentiating PiB(−) from PiB(+) SVaD was as follows: age ≤75 years, ≥5 lacunes, and MTA ≤3, which together yielded an accuracy of 67.5%.
Conclusion: When patients meet the DSM-IV criteria for vascular dementia and also have severe white matter hyperintensities, younger age, greater number of lacunes, and lesser MTA, these are predictive of a PiB(−) scan in patients with SVaD.
Classification of evidence: This study provides Class II evidence that the combination of younger age, greater number of lacunes, and lesser MTA identifies patients with SVaD at lower risk of Alzheimer disease pathology.
GLOSSARY
- AD=
- Alzheimer disease;
- ADDTC=
- State of California Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers;
- AMPETIS=
- Amyloid PET Imaging for Subcortical Vascular Dementia;
- AUC=
- area under the curve;
- CI=
- confidence interval;
- DSM-IV=
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition;
- FLAIR=
- fluid-attenuated inversion recovery;
- MB=
- microbleed;
- MTA=
- medial temporal atrophy;
- NINDS-AIREN=
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke–Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences;
- PiB=
- Pittsburgh compound B;
- SVaD=
- subcortical vascular dementia;
- SVLT=
- Seoul Verbal Learning Test;
- VaD=
- vascular dementia;
- WMH=
- white matter hyperintensity
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Supplemental data at Neurology.org
- Received September 17, 2013.
- Accepted in final form January 22, 2014.
- © 2014 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Disputes & Debates: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
If you are uploading a letter concerning an article:
You must have updated your disclosures within six months: http://submit.neurology.org
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.