CT scanning in senile dementia. A follow-up of survivors.

Survivors from a group of 40 carefully evaluated subjects with senile dementia who had been scanned over two years previously were followed-up, re-scanned and given simple cognitive tests. Of the 12 survivors, 10 agreed to participate. These fell into two sub-groups: one who showed further deterioration in cognitive function and one who did not. The first sub-group showed an increase in ventricle-brain ratio while the second did not. Although the numbers were too small for clear statistical differences to emerge, there was a tendency for affective admixture to be a favourable prognostic indicator and low radiological attenuation density particularly in the right parietal region to be an unfavourable one.