Imaging in the evaluation of dementia

Abstract

Dementia is an increasingly common problem in an ageing population, and poses a serious public health burden with potentially grave social and financial implications. It is now possible following the recent advancements in specialist imaging techniques to demonstrate both structural and functional changes associated with dementia. This has not only allowed the diagnosis of dementia to be made with greater confidence and substantially earlier than previously, but also, crucially, the actual subtype of dementia can often now be accurately characterized, thus facilitating the earlier introduction of newer pharmacological treatment, where appropriate.