Quantitative computed tomography in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Men and women with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) had more brain atrophy and ventricular dilatation, measured by quantitative CT, than did respective age- and sex-matched healthy controls (p less than 0.05). The male DAT patients with mild dementia had a larger mean third ventricle volume, whereas male patients with severe dementia had larger lateral and third ventricle volumes, more CSF, and less gray matter than did controls. Statistically significant and appropriate correlations between several dementia scales and CT measures in the DAT patients indicated that brain atrophy and ventricular dilatation were related to the severity of dementia.