Age and Ageing (1977) 6, Supplement COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY (EMISCAN) IN BRAIN FAILURE IN OLD AGE

The macroscopic abnormality underlying most cases of chronic brain failure in old age is conveniently referred to as cerebral atrophy, which may be thought of as having two components, symmetrical ventricular dilatation and widening of the cortical sulci. Both of these are demonstrable by pneumoencephalography, but this is not an acceptable procedure in the elderly because of its definite and unpleasant morbidity. The intro-duction of computerized tomography (the EMIScan) has made possible the demonstration of these two abnormalities by a non-invasive technique which can be justified in the elderly. The present paper is an account of studies carried out in the University Depart-ment of Geriatric Medicine in Glasgow, which has free access to the EMI Scanner installed in the Institute of Neurological Sciences in October 1973.- The horizontal tomographic cuts produced by the EMIScan show the ventricles as low density areas whose shape corresponds to the third ventricle, frontal horns, bodies and occipital horns; the temporal horns are only rarely seen unless much enlarged. We have measured with a planimeter the largest area represented by ventricle on the computer printout of the 80 x 80 matrix. Comparison of this maximum ventricular area with three methods of measurement of pneumoencephalograms has been possible in a series o