Mental Function and Cerebral Oxygen Consumption in Organic Dementia

Abstract

The aim of the present investigation has been to contribute to the clarification of the clinical diagnosis of slight organic dementia. The commonest group of such patients comprises middle-aged and elderly persons for whom symptoms and anamnestic information suggest some mental reduction. Such patients are usually described as "cases of beginning presenile/senile cerebral arteriosclerosis." However, this diagnosis is often not well founded, as the presence of dementia is frequently difficult to assess; whether the possible dementia is of organic or functional origin is uncertain, and the arteriosclerotic origin of the possible cortical lesion is likewise uncertain. This report is concerned with the relationship between the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO₂) and certain mental functions; the middle-aged patients studied ranged from persons with normal mental function to patients with unquestionable dementia. Clinical Data The material consisted of 19 hospitalized patients. Clinically they fell into three groups. Group 1. —Normal