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PL‐05‐03: Metabolic and molecular imaging markers throughout the course of Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Herholz Karl
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2010.05.515
Subject(s) - dementia , neuroimaging , medicine , disease , neuroscience , positron emission tomography , atrophy , pathophysiology , alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative , alzheimer's disease , psychology , pathology , oncology
The most sensitive and accurate method for molecular imaging in human Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is positron emission tomography (PET). The most widely available PET tracer, which is also used in clinical oncology, is 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). FDG is an imaging biomarker for early and differential diagnosis of AD. Even higher molecular specificity and sensitivity for detection of AD before dementia onset is provided by high-affinity ligands for fibrillary amyloid. 11C-Pittsburgh Compound B is widely being used in research laboratories, while new 18F-labelled ligands are currently undergoing formal clinical trials as amyloid imaging agents and are expected to become commercially available for clinical use in the near future. A large variety of tracers is being developed and used in dementia research for activated microglia and multiple neurotransmitter systems to study disease pathophysiology, biological correlates of clinical symptoms and new possibilities for treatment. Current studies in humans are investigating cholinergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission.