Topographic investigation of brain atrophy in parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam: a comparison with Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Abstract

The topographic distribution of brain atrophy in nine patients with parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam (Guam PDC) was evaluated quantitatively, and compared with that in six Japanese patients with Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia of Alzheimer type (AD), five Japanese patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and nine Japanese control subjects. Characteristic features of Guam PDC were as follows: (1) severe atrophy of the frontal and temporal cortex with relative preservation of the white matter; (2) atrophy of the tectum, tegmentum and cerebral peduncle of the midbrain, and (3) atrophy of the tegmentum and base of the upper pons. In contrast, sectional areas of the tectum and cerebral peduncle of the midbrain were relatively well preserved in PSP, while in AD there was no significant atrophy in the brain stem.