Advanced MRI Brain Scan May Help Predict Stroke-Related Dementia

A study in Stroke found a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique may detect incipient dementia in stroke victims, reports ScienceDaily . The MRI scanner uses diffusion tensor imaging to measure the probability that thinking difficulties and dementia will accompany small vessel disease. A single scan quantified the subjects' brain in fine detail, and by comparing the advanced MRIs to those of a healthy person's, researchers classified the brain into areas of healthy versus damaged tissue. Subjects who had the most brain damage were much more likely to develop thinking problems, and the researchers predicted 75 percent of the dementia cases that transpired during the study. "We have developed a useful tool for monitoring persons at risk of developing dementia and could target those who need early treatment," said Goldsmiths, University of London's Rebecca A. Charlton. The researchers speculated that this method will be able to pinpoint dementia risk within a five-year period.