PET/CT of Dementia

Katherine Zukotynski; Phillip H Kuo; David Mikulis; Pedro Rosa-Neto; Antonio P Strafella; Rathan M Subramaniam; Sandra E Black

doi:10.2214/AJR.18.19822

PET/CT of Dementia

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2018 Aug;211(2):246-259. doi: 10.2214/AJR.18.19822. Epub 2018 Jun 27.

Authors

Katherine Zukotynski^{1

2

3}, Phillip H Kuo⁴, David Mikulis⁵, Pedro Rosa-Neto⁶, Antonio P Strafella⁷, Rathan M Subramaniam⁸, Sandra E Black⁹

Affiliations

¹ 1 Department of Medicine, McMaster University, 1200 Main St W, Rm 1P11, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5. Canada.
² 2 Department of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
³ 3 Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ 4 Departments of Medical Imaging, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
⁵ 5 Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto and the University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ 6 Douglas Research Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁷ 7 Department of Medicine, Neurology Division, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Health Network; Krembil Research Institute, University of Health Network; and Research Imaging Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ 8 Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
⁹ 9 Department of Medicine, Neurology Division, University of Toronto, and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PMID: 29949415
DOI: 10.2214/AJR.18.19822

Abstract

Objective: In this article, we review the literature on PET/CT in the management of dementia, present evidence for best clinical practices, and discuss recent advances in the field.

Conclusion: Standard-of-care imaging for dementia includes CT and MRI, primarily for excluding vascular lesions or masses, detecting atrophy, and monitoring disease severity. PET/CT is a powerful functional modality that can differentiate dementia types and influence management. Fluorine-18-FDG PET/CT reveals the spatial pattern of glucose metabolism in the brain. More recently, radiotracers for PET have been developed that bind to amyloid protein, tau protein, and neuroinflammatory markers.

Keywords: PET/CT; amyloid; dementia; imaging; tau.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Dementia / classification
Dementia / diagnostic imaging*
Diagnosis, Differential
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Humans
Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography*
Radiopharmaceuticals

Substances

Radiopharmaceuticals
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18