Lateralization on neuroimaging does not differentiate frontotemporal lobar degeneration from Alzheimer's disease.

Lateralization on neuroimaging was compared in cases of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD; n = 10) and cases of definite Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 17). All of the cases were pathologically confirmed and semi-quantitative and statistical parametric mapping methods were employed. Seven of the 10 FTLD cases had lateralization on at least one neuroimaging modality: single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), MRI, or CT. All 6/6 FTLD cases with SPECT showed lateralization. MRI results generally agreed with SPECT findings. Three of 4 FTLD cases had lateralized atrophy on CT. For the AD cases, 10/17 SPECTs, 2/7 MRIs, and 1/9 CTs showed lateralized findings. Of the neuroimaging modalities utilized, SPECT was the most sensitive in detecting lateralization. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel