Early [18F]florbetaben and [11C]PiB PET images are a surrogate biomarker of neuronal injury in Alzheimer’s disease

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2016-08, Vol.43 (9), p.1700-1709
• Main Authors: Tiepolt, Solveig, Hesse, Swen, Patt, Marianne, Luthardt, Julia, Schroeter, Matthias L., Hoffmann, Karl-Titus, Weise, David, Gertz, Hermann-Josef, Sabri, Osama, Barthel, Henryk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - metabolism; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Alzheimer's disease; Aniline Compounds - metabolism; Biological Transport; Biomarkers; Cardiology; Female; Hippocampus - pathology; Humans; Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurons; Neurons - metabolism; Neurons - pathology; Nuclear Medicine; Oncology; Original Article; Orthopedics; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiology; Stilbenes - metabolism; Thiazoles - metabolism; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-016-3353-1

Purpose [ 18 F]FDG is a commonly used neuronal injury biomarker for early and differential diagnosis of dementia. Typically, the blood supply to the brain is closely coupled to glucose consumption. Early uptake of the Aβ tracer [ 11 C]PiB on PET images is mainly determined by cerebral blood flow and shows a high correlation with [ 18 F]FDG uptake. Uptake data for 18 F-labelled Aβ PET tracers are, however, scarce. We investigated the value of early PET images using the novel Aβ tracer [ 18 F]FBB in the diagnosis of Alzhimers disease (AD). Methods This retrospective analysis included 22 patients with MCI or dementia who underwent dual time-point PET imaging with either [ 11 C]PiB (11 patients) or [ 18 F]FBB (11 patients) in routine clinical practice. Images were acquired 1 – 9 min after administration of both tracers and 40 – 70 min and 90 – 110 min after administration of [ 11 C]PiB and [ 18 F]FBB, respectively. The patients also underwent [ 18 F]FDG brain PET imaging. PET data were analysed visually and semiquantitatively. Associations between early Aβ tracer uptake and dementia as well as brain atrophy were investigated. Results Regional visual scores of early Aβ tracer and [ 18 F]FDG PET images were significantly correlated (Spearman’s ρ  = 0.780, P