International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 4, April 2012) 414 Effective early detection of Alzheimer’s and Dementia disease using Brain MRI Scan Images Dr. K.D. Desai 1 , Prof. Sonal Parmar 2 1 K .C. College of Engineering, Thane, Mumbai 2 M.P.S.T.M.E., NMIMS University, Mumbai 1 kddesai@hotmail.com 2 sonalnparmar2008@rediffmail.com,sonal.parmar@nmims.edu Abstract— It is known that the early detection of brain diseases significantly increases the life span and improves the quality of life in general. The human brain is a highly complex and non-linear system. As brain is involved in everything we do and everything we are, it is the most valuable part of the human body so it is very important for the physicians to know the stages of aging and changes that take place during these stages. Brain health is essential to all aspects of quality of life. Lower brain activity and blood flow causes greater risks for strokes or Alzheimer’s disease. Brain need to be tuned, balanced and properly nourished to remain in excellent health. As we age our brain normally gets less and less active. People with Alzheimer’s have a serious deterioration of brain function and often behaviour. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of senile dementia. In this paper we discuss the causes of Alzheimer’s and dementia diseases and various techniques that can be effectively utilized for their detection. And how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in cerebral blood flow and blood oxygenation is presented. Keywords— Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Brain MRI , 3D surface spect images, 3D active spect images, Early detection, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), medical image analysis. I. INTRODUCTION Alzheimer’s disease leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Overtime the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions. Dementia is loss of cognitive ability in a previously impaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Aging in the brain results in slow in movement and in information processing. The brain losses five to ten percent of its volume during twenty to ninety years of age with grooves widen and surface shrinks. Figure 1 shows the stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from very early, mild to moderate and severe. Dementia is a progressive deterioration of intellectual functions due to a brain disease, organ failure or malfunction, drug toxicity of other causes. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for about half of all dementia cases. If the person exhibited Alzheimer like symptoms while alive and the brain tissue contains the microscopic physical abnormalities typical of Alzheimer’s disease, then a definitive diagnosis can be made. While a person is alive, physicians can correctly diagnose Alzheimer’s disease about 90 percent of the time based on mental and behavioural symptoms, a physical examination, neuropsychological tests and laboratory tests. Alzheimer starts with the inability to remember recent events and retain new information, poor judgement, emotional instability and apathy. Alzheimer’s disease can be distinguished from other types of dementia in part by the symptoms exhibited, the extent to which these symptoms occur and the speed with which these symptoms occur and the speed with which the disease progresses. Figure 1 Stages of Alzheimer's disease from very early, mild to moderate and severe. With the blood test, the physician can measure thyroid function, hypothyroidism or failure to produce sufficient thyroid hormones, which is common in the elderly and can cause dementia. Dementia may also be the result of a vitamin B12 deficiency, a condition common in older people. Physicians can also use MRI brain scans to find out other causes of dementia, including brain tumours, stroke, and blood accumulation on the brain surface or other conditions.