Imaging Dementia. Essentials for Clinical Practice

Introduction.- Alzheimer's Disease.- Vascular Cognitive Impairment.- Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.- Parkinsonian Dementias.- Rapidly Progressive Dementias.

This book helps physicians select from among the currently available imaging tools, promoting the correct and cost-saving diagnosis and management of common dementias. Magnetic resonance (MR) and nuclear medicine techniques are routinely used to facilitate diagnosis, select therapies, provide information regarding the prognosis, and monitor therapy response in patients with cognitive impairment and dementia. Furthermore, the advent of quantitative MR techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging, perfusion imaging, etc. have opened up new opportunities to diagnose neurological diseases based on objective findings, and offer unique new insights into the main neurodegenerative diseases of the human brain. However, the practical value of various neuroimaging techniques in clinical practice has yet to be clearly defined, and their potential for future development is not yet fully appreciated.

To help remedy the situation, this book offers practical and useful algorithms and rules that can be directly applied in the clinical setting. It provides concise content, together with a wealth of clinical case material.

Author Information

Massimo Filippi is currently: Full Professor of Neurology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Director of the Residency School in Neurology, and President of the Bacherlor's Degree in Physiotherapy at the same University; Chair of the Neurology Unit, Director of the MS Center, Director of the Neurophysiology Unit, and Director of the Neuroimaging Research Unit (NRU) at IRCCS Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan. His research activity has always focused on the definition of the mechanisms leading to progressive accumulation of irreversible physical disability and cognitive impairment in various neurological conditions. He is member of various national and international Scientific Societies and Boards where he covered or is covering institutional roles. He is author of over 1150 papers, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurology and member of the Editorial Boards of many international scientific journals. He is very often requested as speaker and/or chairman in national and international neurological congresses. In 2001, Prof. Filippi was awarded the Rita Levi Montalcini Prize for his outstanding contributions to the study of MS.

Federica Agosta is a Group Leader at the Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR), where she conducts research in patients with neurodegenerative conditions. She has a broad background in clinical neurology and neuroimaging, with specific training and expertise in MRI and neurodegenerative diseases. Her research has led to the publication of over 160 Pubmed-referenced papers.