Neuropsychological, psychiatric, and cerebral blood flow findings in vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Psychiatric, neuropsychological, and cerebral blood flow differences between patients with ischemic vascular dementia (IVD) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) were examined. A consecutive series of patients who met either the criteria of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association for probable AD or the State of California AD Diagnostic and Treatment Centers criteria for probable IVD were included in the study. Twenty consecutive patients with IVD were matched for age, sex, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores with 40 consecutive patients with probable AD. Patients underwent a psychiatric interview, a neuropsychological assessment, and single-photon emission CT imaging with 99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime. Patients with IVD showed significantly more severe anosognosia (P