Lateral hemispheric asymmetries in senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT) assessed by I-123 IMP SPECT imaging: a preliminary report.

Lateral hemispheric asymmetries (LHA) of I-123 IMP single photon emission tomography (SPECT) in senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT) were investigated. Significant left-right asymmetries were found by SPECT imaging in 13/17 SDAT patients. LHA were found in mild as well as in moderate or severe cases of SDAT. No relationships were found between LHA and the duration of illness or between LHA and the severity of disease, suggesting that LHA reflect subtypes more than the evolutive stages of the disease. LHA was more frequent in right hemisphere (10 of 17 cases) and all male subjects were right hemisphere damaged type which is not consistent with past reports.