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Degenerative Brain Disease

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Abstract

With the increase in the mean age of the populations of many countries, neurodegenerative diseases are becoming increasingly important. Of particular urgency is their early diagnosis, to allow for early therapeutic intervention since neurodegeneration begins long before the patient experiences any symptoms. In fact, it can be months or years before the clinical symptoms become obvious. The sensitivity of imaging in its ability to detect even small changes in the brain may be of vital importance in this scenario. Nonetheless, although the radiological evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases has improved markedly with the introduction of modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, the differential diagnosis between the different diseases remains a challenge. For this reason, a detailed understanding of the normal aging changes in the brain is needed to correctly interpret a patient’s clinical findings and laboratory test results.

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Italia

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Essig, M. (2008). Degenerative Brain Disease. In: Hodler, J., Von Schulthess, G.K., Zollikofer, C.L. (eds) Diseases of the Brain, Head & Neck, Spine. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0840-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0840-3_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0839-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-0840-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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