PET amyloid imaging as a tool for early diagnosis and identifying patients at risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Current theory suggests that β-amyloid accumulation may be an early step in the cascade that leads to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. β-Amyloid targeted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging potentially provides a direct, relatively noninvasive estimate of brain β-amyloid burden. This has recently been supported by demonstration that amyloid plaque binding on PET was strongly correlated with brain β-amyloid burden at autopsy. Additionally, there is growing consensus that PET imaging can identify subjects with elevated β-amyloid burden, even at early stages of disease. Finally, preliminary evidence suggests that abnormal β-amyloid accumulation, as evidenced by PET imaging, has implications for both present nd future cognitive performance. Although large longitudinal studie

SUBMITTER: Pontecorvo MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3226273 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature