Amyloid imaging in Alzheimer’s disease: A literature review

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging health & aging, 2014-07, Vol.18 (7), p.723-740
• Main Authors: Saidlitz, Pascal, Voisin, T, Vellas, B, Payoux, P, Gabelle, A, Formaglio, M, Delrieu, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Alzheimer disease; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - drug therapy; Alzheimer's disease; amyloid; Aniline Compounds - therapeutic use; Benzothiazoles - therapeutic use; Diagnostic Imaging; drugs; Ethylene Glycols - therapeutic use; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Humans; image analysis; immunotherapy; Literature reviews; marketing; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurosciences; Nutrition; Observational Studies as Topic; Plaque, Amyloid - diagnostic imaging; Plaque, Amyloid - drug therapy; Primary Care Medicine; Quality of Life Research; Radionuclide Imaging; tracer techniques
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-014-0507-3

Therapies targeting amyloid-β peptide currently represent approximately 50% of drugs now being developed for Alzheimer’s disease. Some, including active and passive anti-Aβ immunotherapy, directly target the amyloid plaques. The new amyloid tracers are increasingly being included in the proposed updated diagnostic criteria, and may allow earlier diagnosis. Those targeting amyloid-β peptide allow identification of amyloid plaques in vivo. We need to gain insight into all aspects of their application. As florbetapir (Amyvid™) and flutemetamol (Vizamyl™) have received marketing authorization, clinicians require deeper knowledge to be rationally used in diagnosis. In this paper, we review both completed and ongoing observational, longitudinal and interventional studies of these tracers, our main objective being to show the performance of the four most commonly used tracers and their validation.