MRI Might Prevent Misdiagnosis of Persons With Signs of Dementia

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could help prevent a misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's following traumatic brain injury (TBI), reports United Press International . Brain MRI scans of 40 TBI patients who later developed memory problems showed most damage was concentrated in the ventral diencephalon, with the least amount of damage in the hippocampus. The former is associated with learning and emotions, while the latter is associated with memory and emotions, and is the area most impacted by Alzheimer's. Washington University in St. Louis Professor Cyrus Raji said the MRI scan the team employed to quantify brain volumes "is useful because it can be applied on the same type of MRI scans we obtain in the clinic with no special type of imaging required."