Open AccessQuantitative analysis of regional distribution of tau pathology with 11C-PBB3-PET in a clinical setting
Author(s) -
Elham Yousefzadeh-Nowshahr,
Gordon Winter,
Peter Bohn,
Katharina Kneer,
Christine A. F. Von Arnim,
Markus Otto,
Christoph Solbach,
Sarah AnderlStraub,
D Polívka,
Patrick Fissler,
Joachim Strobel,
Peter Kletting,
Matthias W. Riepe,
Makoto Higuchi,
Gerhard Glatting,
Albert C. Ludolph,
Ambros Beer
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0266906
Subject(s) - positron emission tomography , neurodegeneration , medicine , nuclear medicine , pittsburgh compound b , statistical parametric mapping , pathology , alzheimer's disease , disease , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
Purpose The recent developments of tau-positron emission tomography (tau-PET) enable in vivo assessment of neuropathological tau aggregates. Among the tau-specific tracers, the application of 11 C-pyridinyl-butadienyl-benzothiazole 3 ( 11 C-PBB3) in PET shows high sensitivity to Alzheimer disease (AD)-related tau deposition. The current study investigates the regional tau load in patients within the AD continuum, biomarker-negative individuals (BN) and patients with suspected non-AD pathophysiology (SNAP) using 11 C-PBB3-PET. Materials and methods A total of 23 memory clinic outpatients with recent decline of episodic memory were examined using 11 C-PBB3-PET. Pittsburg compound B ( 11 C-PIB) PET was available for 17, 18 F-flurodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) PET for 16, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein levels for 11 patients. CSF biomarkers were considered abnormal based on Aβ 42 ( 450 ng/L). The PET biomarkers were classified as positive or negative using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis and visual assessment. Using the amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration (A/T/N) scheme, patients were grouped as within the AD continuum, SNAP, and BN based on amyloid and neurodegeneration status. The 11 C-PBB3 load detected by PET was compared among the groups using both atlas-based and voxel-wise analyses. Results Seven patients were identified as within the AD continuum, 10 SNAP and 6 BN. In voxel-wise analysis, significantly higher 11 C-PBB3 binding was observed in the AD continuum group compared to the BN patients in the cingulate gyrus, tempo-parieto-occipital junction and frontal lobe. Compared to the SNAP group, patients within the AD continuum had a considerably increased 11 C-PBB3 uptake in the posterior cingulate cortex. There was no significant difference between SNAP and BN groups. The atlas-based analysis supported the outcome of the voxel-wise quantification analysis. Conclusion Our results suggest that 11 C-PBB3-PET can effectively analyze regional tau load and has the potential to differentiate patients in the AD continuum group from the BN and SNAP group.