
Abstract Objective Half of ALS patients are cognitively and/or behaviourally impaired. As cognition/behaviour and cerebral glucose metabolism can be correlated by means of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), we aimed to utilise FDG-PET, first, to replicate group-level differences in glucose metabolism between non-demented ALS patients separated into non-impaired (ALSni), cognitively impaired (ALSci), behaviourally impaired (ALSbi), and cognitively and behaviourally impaired (ALScbi) groups; second, to investigate glucose metabolism and performance in various cognitive domains; and third, to examine the impact of partial volume effects correction (PVEC) of the FDG-PET data on the results. Methods We analysed neuropsychological, clinical, and imaging data from 67 ALS patients (30 ALSni, 21 ALSci, 5 ALSbi, and 11 ALScbi). Cognition was assessed with the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen, and two social cognition tests. FDG-PET and structural MRI scans were acquired for each patient. Voxel-based statistical analyses were undertaken on grey matter volume (GMV) and non-corrected vs. PVE-corrected FDG-PET scans. Results ALSci and ALScbi had lower cognitive scores than ALSni. In contrast to both ALSni and ALSci, ALScbi showed widespread hypometabolism in the superior- and middle-frontal gyri in addition to the right temporal pole. Correlations were observed between the GMV, the FDG-PET signal, and various cognitive scores. The FDG-PET results were largely unaffected by PVEC. Interpretation Our study identified widespread differences in hypometabolism in the ALScbi-ni but not in the ALSci-ni group comparison, raising the possibility that cerebral metabolism may be more closely related to the presence of behavioural changes than to mild cognitive deficits.
Male, Grey matter volume, Neuropsychological Tests, diagnostic imaging [Cognition Disorders], Cerebral glucose metabolism, Cognition, Mental Disorders/metabolism [MeSH] ; Aged [MeSH] ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MeSH] ; Male [MeSH] ; Positron-Emission Tomography [MeSH] ; Grey matter volume ; Glucose/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Cerebral glucose metabolism ; Female [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ; Brain/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cerebral Cortex/metabolism [MeSH] ; Humans [MeSH] ; Middle Aged [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/metabolism [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; FDG-PET ; Cognition Disorders/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Brain/metabolism [MeSH] ; Mental Disorders/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Cognition Disorders/etiology [MeSH] ; Original Communication ; Neuropsychological Tests [MeSH], diagnostic imaging [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis], Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, metabolism [Cognition Disorders], diagnostic imaging [Cerebral Cortex], metabolism [Fluorodeoxyglucose F18], Humans, FDG-PET, diagnostic imaging [Brain], Aged, Cerebral Cortex, Original Communication, metabolism [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis], metabolism [Cerebral Cortex], Mental Disorders, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, etiology [Cognition Disorders], Brain, Middle Aged, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, metabolism [Glucose], Glucose, metabolism [Brain], Positron-Emission Tomography, Female, Cognition Disorders, metabolism [Mental Disorders], diagnostic imaging [Mental Disorders], ddc: ddc:610
Male, Grey matter volume, Neuropsychological Tests, diagnostic imaging [Cognition Disorders], Cerebral glucose metabolism, Cognition, Mental Disorders/metabolism [MeSH] ; Aged [MeSH] ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MeSH] ; Male [MeSH] ; Positron-Emission Tomography [MeSH] ; Grey matter volume ; Glucose/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Cerebral glucose metabolism ; Female [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ; Brain/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cerebral Cortex/metabolism [MeSH] ; Humans [MeSH] ; Middle Aged [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/metabolism [MeSH] ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; FDG-PET ; Cognition Disorders/metabolism [MeSH] ; Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Brain/metabolism [MeSH] ; Mental Disorders/diagnostic imaging [MeSH] ; Cognition Disorders/etiology [MeSH] ; Original Communication ; Neuropsychological Tests [MeSH], diagnostic imaging [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis], Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, metabolism [Cognition Disorders], diagnostic imaging [Cerebral Cortex], metabolism [Fluorodeoxyglucose F18], Humans, FDG-PET, diagnostic imaging [Brain], Aged, Cerebral Cortex, Original Communication, metabolism [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis], metabolism [Cerebral Cortex], Mental Disorders, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, etiology [Cognition Disorders], Brain, Middle Aged, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, metabolism [Glucose], Glucose, metabolism [Brain], Positron-Emission Tomography, Female, Cognition Disorders, metabolism [Mental Disorders], diagnostic imaging [Mental Disorders], ddc: ddc:610
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