Dementia is a syndrome characterized by multidomain acquired chronic cognitive impairment that has a profound impact on daily life. Neurogenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or nondegenerative diseases such as vascular dementia are considered to cause dementia. The need for further diagnostic improvement originates from the prevalence of these conditions, especially in developed countries with a predominance of the elderly population. Today, the diagnosis and follow-up of all neurodegenerative diseases cannot be performed without radiological imaging, primarily magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The introduction of 3T MRI and its modern techniques, such as arterial spin labeling, has enabled better visualization of morphologic changes in dementia. For better diagnosis and follow-up in patients with dementia, various semiquantitative scales have been designed to improve the accuracy of assessment and decrease interobserver variability. Moreover, there is a growing need for MRI in the assessment of novel therapies and their side effects. To better apply MRI findings in the diagnosis of both already developed dementia and its early stages, the aim of this paper is to review the available literature and summarize the specific MRI changes.

Although genetic variations rs780094 and rs1260326 of the glucokinase regulatory protein gene (GCKR) could be associated with lipid profile imbalance, their influence on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) risk has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of GCKR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs780094 and rs1260326 on lipid profile parameters in patients with AIS, and to evaluate the association of these SNPs with the risk of AIS. In a casecontrol study, a total of 148 subjects were screened for GCKR rs780094 and rs1260326 SNPs using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The lipid profile was determined based on serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations. The frequencies of the minor rs780094T allele and the minor rs1260326T allele were significantly lower in AIS patients compared to controls. The rs780094TT genotype and the rs1260326TT genotype were associated with decreased risk of AIS compared to wildtype carriers. In conclusion, this is the first study implying that decreased risk of AIS in rs780094 and rs1260326 homozygous minor allele carriers is not caused by dyslipidemia, but possibly by the lack of coagulation factor glycosylation.

Although there is a disturbance of oxidative stress markers in acute ischemic stroke (AIS), genetic contribution of-262C/T polymorphism of catalase (CAT) gene on plasma CAT activity in this disease is not yet established. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of CAT-262C/T polymorphism in AIS patients compared to controls, as well as to evaluate whether this polymorphism can influence plasma CAT activity. A total of 34 patients with AIS and 32 healthy volunteers were screened for the CAT-262C/T gene polymorphism using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP). Plasma CAT activity was determined using spectrophotometric method according to Goth. Although the patients with the diagnosis of AIS had a higher frequency of polymorphic-262T allele in comparison to the group of healthy subjects, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.117). CAT activity was significantly lower in the patients (12.95 ± 2.86 kU/L) compared to the controls (25.58 ± 13.50 kU/L, p < 0.001). The patients carriers of the-262T allele, showed significant decrease of plasma CAT activity (11.93 ± 2.82 kU/L) compared to the patients with genotype-262CC (13.99 ± 2.59 kU/L, p = 0.039). This is the first study examining the CAT-262C/T polymorphism and its influence on plasma CAT activity in AIS. Bearing in mind that the presence of-262T allele in AIS patients significantly decreased plasma catalase activity compared to CC genotype carriers, further studies should be focused on the testing of the potential protective role of the-262CC genotype in ischemic stroke.