Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Assessment of regional glucose metabolism in aging brain and dementia with positron-emission tomography

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5639807
This paper explores the alterations in regional glucose metabolism that occur in elderly subjects and those with senile dementia compared to normal young volunteers. Results showed a tendency for the frontal regions to have a lower metabolic rate in patients with dementia although this did not reach the level of significance when compared to the elderly control subjects. The changes in glucose metabolism were symmetrical in both the left and right hemispheres. There was a lack of correlation between the mean cortical metabolic rates for glucose and the global mental function in the patients with senile dementia. This is at variance with most of the regional cerebral blood flow data that has been collected. This may be partly related to the use of substrates other than glucose by the brain in elderly and demented subjects. (PSB)
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA); Pennsylvania Univ., Philadelphia (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
5639807
Report Number(s):
BNL-30551; CONF-8110144-1; ON: DE82005511
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English