Clinical application of positron emission tomography with Pittsburgh compound B in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the roles of positron emission tomography (PET) with N-methyl [11C]2-(4' -methylaminophenyi-6-hydroxybenzathiazole) (11C-PIB) in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods Six AD patients,7 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and 6 normal controls (NC) were diagnosed and assessed with brain PET with 11C-PIB.The emission images obtained at 5,25 and 45 min after 11C-PIB administration were analysed.Results Using visual analysis to summarize the characteristics of the imagings of each group: comparing to NC,the AD patients show high 11C -PIB up take,and low clearance rate of 11C-PIB at 45 min.The imagings of MCI group show heterogeneous,overlapping with AD and NC group.The statistical analysis shows: in AD group,the standard uptake value (SUV) ratio of parietal lobe,frontal lobe,temporal lobe,occipital lobe and hippocampal at 45 min was 1.91±0.21,2.09±0.41,1.92±0.35,1.66±0.41,1.55±0.28 respectively,and were higher than that of NC group (value being 1.48±0.53,1.57±0.64,1.36±0.53,1.27±0.40,1.17±0.33) with statistical significance,t=8.114,5.620,5.705,3.650 and 2.866,P=0.0001,0.0002,0.0002,0.0045 and 0.0170 respectively.In MCI group,the SUV ratio of parietal lobe,frontal lobe,temporal lobe,occipital lobe and hippocampal at 45 min was 1.48 ± 0.53,1.57 ± 0.64,1.36±0.53,1.27 ± 0.40,1.17±0.33 respectively,and were higher than that of NC group,but there was no statistical significance.Conclusion 11C-PIB PET imaging can differentiate AD patients from normal and anticipate the transformation of MCI patients. Key words: Alzheimer disease; Cognition disorders; Thiazoles; Aniline compounds; Positron-emission tomography