Amyloid imaging in alzheimer's disease and other dementias

Abstract

With the advent of new therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing β-amyloid (Aβ) burden in the brain to potentially prevent or delay functional and irreversible cognitive loss, there is increased interest in developing agents that allow assessment of Aβ burden in vivo. Molecular neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET), in conjunction with related biomarkers in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, are proving valuable in the early and differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). 11C-PiB PET has proven useful in the discrimination of dementias, showing significantly higher PiB retention in grey matter of AD patients when compared with healthy controls or patients wit..