Premium
Amyloid deposition in semantic dementia: a positron emission tomography study
Author(s) -
Brown Eric E.,
GraffGuerrero Ariel,
Houle Sylvain,
Mizrahi Romina,
Wilson Alan A.,
Pollock Bruce G.,
Mulsant Benoit H.,
Felsky Daniel,
Voineskos Aristotle N.,
TangWai David F.,
Verhoeff Nicolaas P. L. G.,
Freedman Morris,
Ismail Zahinoor,
Chow Tiffany W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.4423
Subject(s) - pittsburgh compound b , dementia , positron emission tomography , asymptomatic , psychology , frontotemporal dementia , medicine , alzheimer's disease , standardized uptake value , nuclear medicine , disease
Background Pittsburgh compound B ([11C]‐PIB) identifies amyloid‐β (Aβ) deposition in vivo . Asymptomatic Aβ deposition has been reported consistently in some healthy older subjects. Of patients with frontotemporal dementia, those who have later onset have a higher potential for Aβ deposition. Objective Comparison of Aβ deposition in Alzheimer's disease (AD), healthy older controls, and patients with early‐ and late‐onset semantic dementia (SD), a subtype of frontotemporal dementia. Methods Subjects were recruited from tertiary academic care centers specializing in assessment and management of patients with neurodegenerative disease. We used the radiotracer [11C]‐PIB in a high‐resolution positron emission tomography scanner to evaluate 11 participants with SD (six with onset before age 65 and five with later onset), 9 with probable AD, and 10 controls over age 60. The main outcome measures were frontal, temporal, parietal, and total [11C]‐PIB standardized uptake value ratios to establish PIB‐positive (PIB+) cutoff. Results The five patients with late‐onset SD were PIB‐negative. Two of six with early‐onset SD, seven of nine with AD, and 1 of 10 controls were PIB+. The SD participants who were PIB+ did not have memory or visuospatial deficits that are typical in AD. Conclusions Aβ deposition does not seem to be associated with late‐onset SD. Future larger studies might confirm whether a significant minority of early‐onset SD patients exhibit Aβ deposition. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.