Changes in brain ventricular size with repeated CAT scans in suspected Alzheimer's disease

The interpretation of brain ventricular size in CAT scans of patients with dementia is made difficult by the marked variability in ventricular size that occurs with normal aging. Five patients with probable Alzheimer's disease had serial CAT scans. Published normative data were interpolated to estimate the normal rate of change in ventricular size. Over a period of 15 to 35 months, four of the five patients had increases in ventricular size that were remarkably greater than the norms. The data suggest that the rate of change in ventricular size may be of considerable interest in longitudinal analyses and as a neurodiagnostic parameter.