Can Dementia Be Seen on a Brain Scan?

Do you find your friends or family members remember pieces of your history better than you do? Do you often walk into a room only to forget why? Do you notice a loved one having cognitive problems or acting strangely? Do you wish you could take a peek inside your head to see what’s happening in your brain to make you so forgetful? Would you like to know if you’re headed for dementia? You can with functional brain imaging. One diagnostic tool that can be extremely useful in helping to understand signs of memory and cognitive issues better is a brain SPECT scan.  Examining your brain’s function with this type of imaging can help identify cognitive problems long before they develop into dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. More than a decade ago, published research recognized brain SPECT imaging could help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease more precisely.

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Counter to what some people may believe, persistent issues with memory and changes in cognition are NOT normal signs of aging! Here’s what brain SPECT imaging can reveal about your brain function, and how you can use it to address early signs of dementia when interventions are more effective.

WHAT IS DEMENTIA?

Dementia is the general term given for a decline in cognitive ability that is severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by abnormal changes in the brain. Early signs of dementia may include:

• Memory problems, particularly remembering recent events
• Increasing confusion
• Reduced concentration
• Personality or behavioral changes
• Apathy and withdrawal or depression
• Loss of ability to do everyday tasks

Over time, dementia symptoms can grow severe enough to impair a person’s ability to function independently in the world. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but there are other less common forms as well. According to recent data, dementia is estimated to affect more than 7 million people ages 65 or older in the U.S. Experts believe that more than 9 million Americans may have dementia by 2030, and nearly 12 million might be affected by it by 2040, according to the same research findings. Of those dementia cases, roughly 60-80% are Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, it’s estimated that 6.5 million people in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer’s. People with dementia die prematurely. People with dementia die prematurely. It is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world. A recent meta-analysis study revealed that after diagnosis, the mean survival time for people with Alzheimer’s was 5.8 years. For people with other forms of dementia, survival times were even less. There’s good reason to take early signs of dementia seriously.

BRAIN IMAGING FOR DEMENTIA: STRUCTURE VS. FUNCTION

If you have persistent memory problems and/or other cognitive issues, there are several ways a doctor may choose to look at your brain:

• Structural brain scans
• Functional brain scans
• Amyloid imaging agents

Structural Brain Scans

Physicians will routinely either order an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CT (computerized axial tomography) brain scan. These imaging tools are designed to picture the brain’s structure (anatomy). In many cases, an MRI brain scan or brain CT scan will come back normal or may indicate “mild atrophy consistent with aging.” This does not provide much information about dementia. On the other hand, either scan can show if there has been a stroke or a tumor. With Alzheimer’s disease, structural changes, such as brain shrinkage, usually occur later in its development when lifestyle interventions are less effective. Whether it is Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, an MRI or CT scan is not going to reveal early functional changes. Functional changes are the first indications that dementia may be developing.

Functional Brain Scans

Functional brain-imaging studies can be more useful precisely because they reveal changes in the way the brain functions. With dementia, functional issues nearly always occur before structural ones. More importantly, functional imaging can show evidence of a disease process years or even decades before people experience any symptoms. This allows time for a number of interventions to be implemented for better health outcomes. Functional brain imaging tools include:

• SPECT (single-photon emission computerized tomography) looks at blood flow and activity patterns in the brain. It shows areas of the brain with healthy activity as well as regions that are underactive or overactive. SPECT can help in the diagnosis of many different types of memory problems, including mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s, and other forms of dementia. It can also reveal if memory issues may be resulting from other causes, such as head trauma, infections, toxins, or depression.
• QEEG (quantitative electroencephalogram) imaging reveals electrical activity in the brain. Specific electrical patterns are associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. A 2022 study concluded that QEEG is a reliable tool to differentiate MCI, Alzheimer’s, and other dementias from normal aging.
• PET (positron emission tomography) scans measure the concentration of certain molecules in the brain. An amyloid-PET scan specifically measures the amount of abnormal amyloid buildup in the brain. This can be helpful, but it is far more expensive than SPECT or QEEG.

Amyloid Imaging Agents

Medical researchers used to think that there were two primary causal factors of Alzheimer’s disease:

• the buildup of beta amyloid plaques
• the formation of “tangles” within neurons caused by inflamed tau proteins

With this understanding, amyloid imaging agents for the brain have been developed. Tau imaging tools are currently in the works. Curiously, though, all of the medications developed to clean up these two destructive proteins have failed in clinical trials. It is very likely that the treatment of Alzheimer’s may need to be more multidimensional than a one-size-fits-all solution targeting only amyloid buildup.

ADVANTAGES OF BRAIN SPECT IMAGING FOR DEMENTIA

SPECT provides more information, which is helpful in identifying a broad range of brain health issues. Indeed, more than a decade ago, published research recognized brain SPECT imaging could help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease more precisely. Here are 3 advantages of SPECT:

1. Early detection.

Brain imaging research, including a study in Neurodegenerative Disease, indicates that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s begin decades before symptoms of the disease appear. Based on the brain-imaging work at Amen Clinics, SPECT can identify patterns associated with Alzheimer’s up to 9 years prior to the onset of symptoms. At Amen Clinics, SPECT imaging has revealed a typical brain pattern associated with Alzheimer’s disease. This pattern involves decreased activity in 3 key areas:

• Posterior cingulate gyrus
• Parietal lobes
• Temporal lobes

As Alzheimer’s progresses to more advanced stages, decreases in activity develop in additional brain areas, such as the frontal lobes.

2. Showing multiple types of dementia.

Autopsy research shows that over 50% of people who died from Alzheimer’s disease also had changes in the brain associated with other forms of dementia. SPECT can help reveal multiple brain health issues that may be contributing to memory problems.

3. Revealing specific dementia patterns in the brain.

SPECT scans show the specific patterns of different types of dementia. For example, in frontotemporal dementia, which accounts for roughly 5% of dementia cases, there’s typically low blood flow in the frontal and temporal lobes. With vascular dementia, which accounts for 10% of dementia cases, low blood flow will be evident in the areas of the brain that are affected by blood vessel damage. These advantages make brain SPECT imaging particularly valuable for anyone who is experiencing memory issues or who has a family history of Alzheimer’s disease.

USING BRIGHT MINDS TO FIGHT MEMORY LOSS AND DEMENTIA

At Amen Clinics, brain SPECT imaging has played a role in identifying 11 major risk factors for memory loss, including Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The easiest way to remember them is with the mnemonic BRIGHT MINDS, which stands for:

• Blood Flow
• Retirement and Aging
• Inflammation
• Genetics
• Head Trauma
• Toxins
• Mental Health
• Immune Health/Infections
• Neurohormone Issues
• Diabesity
• Sleep Issues

The best way to keep your memory sharp, stop your brain from aging, and prevent Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is to prevent or treat all of these risk factors. It’s never too late—or too early—to start. Memory problems, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.