Full Text:
영남의대학술지 Yeungnam Univ J Med 2018;35(1):1-6
REVIEW ARTICLE
Beta-amyloid imaging in dementia
Kyung Ah Chun
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea
Corresponding Author: Kyung Ah Chun, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, 170, Hyeonchung-ro, Nam-gu, Daegu 42415, Korea
Tel: +82-53-620-3135, Fax: +82-53-620-3135
E-mail: cka52@yumail.ac.kr
Received: October 22, 2017, Revised: November 30, 2017 Accepted: January 3, 2018
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with extracellular plaques, composed of amyloid-beta (Aβ), in the brain. Although the precise mechanism underlying the neurotoxicity of Aβ has not been established, Aβ accumulation is the primary event in a cascade of events that lead to neurofibrillary degeneration and dementia. In particular, the Aβ burden, as assessed by neuroimaging, has proved to be an excellent predictive biomarker. Positron emission tomography, using ligands such as 11C-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B or 18F-labeled tracers, such as 18F-florbetaben, 18F-florbetapir, and 18F-flutemetamol, which bind to Aβ deposits in the brain, has been a valuable technique for visualizing and quantifying the deposition of Aβ throughout the brain in living subjects. Aβ imaging has very high sensitivity for detecting AD pathology. In addition, it can predict the progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD, and contribute to the development of disease-specific therapies.
Key Words: Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyloid-beta; Positron emission tomography
References