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SPECT imaging distinguishes depression from dementia

Recent findings indicated single photon emission computed tomography distinguished between depression and cognitive disorders among older adults.

“This is a critical clinical question that has practical implications for patient management and treatment,” Daniel G. Amen, MD, of Amen Clinics, Costa Mesa, California, said in a press release. “These disorders have very different prognoses and treatments and being able to improve diagnostic accuracy can improve outcomes for some patients.”

To assess efficacy of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for detection of depression and cognitive disorders, researchers conducted imaging among 4,541 individuals, of whom 847 had dementia, 3,269 had depression and 425 had both.

Researchers found that participants with cognitive disorders exhibited reduced blood flow in the hippocampus, temporal and parietal lobes, compared with those with depression.

SPECT distinguished depression from cognitive disorders with 86% accuracy, according to analysis.

Among participants with both disorders, SPECT differentiated between cognitive disorders and depression with 83% accuracy.

“One of the greatest new insights of the past decade is the linkage of depression to the psychology of late life cognitive decline. Raji and coworkers extend the approach to the biological substrate by an elegant imaging approach. These studies further place brain aging on a firm biological basis,” George Perry, PhD, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, said in the release.

Disclosure: Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.