Relationship between both IQ and Mini-Mental State Examination and the regional cerebral glucose metabolism in clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease: A PET study

In order to clarify the hypofunction in which brain areas demonstrate a decline in Intelligence Quotient (IQ), we examined correlations between the IQ and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglc) measured using positron emission tomography (PET) in 26 patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD). The MMSE scores and full-scale IQ (FSIQ) showed significant correlations with the rCMRglc in the temporal and parietal lobes on both sides and in the left frontal lobe, which were significantly reduced in comparison to those in the normal controls, A multiple regression analysis showed only the MMSE score to predict verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ) and FSIQ. VIQ was also predicted by the rCMRglc in the left parietal lobe, while PIQ was predicted by the age at onset. The results suggested MMSE to be an index of dementia severity reflected by general intelligence as shown by IQ in AD, and a reduction in the VIQ can thus be used as an index of the left parietal dysfunction, which is not expressed by MMSE. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.