The role of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in adults with Down syndrome
V. P. Prasher, P. C. Barber, R. West and P. Glenholmes
Department of Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, England.
OBJECTIVE: To correlate findings from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with
neuropathological analysis and clinical assessment of Alzheimer disease in
patients with Down syndrome. DESIGN AND METHODS: Case study of 1 elderly
man with trisomy 21 and Alzheimer disease who had been followed up
prospectively over a 5-year period. The patient was a resident in a
supervised community unit and died with end-stage dementia. The MRI changes
were correlated with the results of clinical psychopathological analysis
and neuropathological brain tissue findings. To our knowledge, this is the
first case in which clinical, MRI, and neuropathological data were
available in a case involving an elderly patient with Down syndrome and
Alzheimer disease. RESULTS: The MRI findings correlated with the clinical
deterioration and neuropathological features of Alzheimer disease. Marked
changes in temporal and hippocampal regions were found. CONCLUSION:
Magnetic resonance imaging is potentially a valuable tool in the diagnosis
of Alzheimer disease in adults with Down syndrome, particularly in
individuals for whom standard intellectual assessments are not possible.