PET molecular imaging for pathophysiological visualization in Alzheimer's disease

Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2023 Feb;50(3):765-783. doi: 10.1007/s00259-022-05999-z. Epub 2022 Nov 14.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common dementia worldwide. The exact etiology of AD is unclear as yet, and no effective treatments are currently available, making AD a tremendous burden posed on the whole society. As AD is a multifaceted and heterogeneous disease, and most biomarkers are dynamic in the course of AD, a range of biomarkers should be established to evaluate the severity and prognosis. Positron emission tomography (PET) offers a great opportunity to visualize AD from diverse perspectives by using radiolabeled agents involved in various pathophysiological processes; PET imaging technique helps to explore the pathomechanisms of AD comprehensively and find out the most appropriate biomarker in each AD phase, leading to a better evaluation of the disease. In this review, we discuss the application of PET in the course of AD and summarized radiolabeled compounds with favorable imaging characteristics.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Molecular imaging; Positron emission tomography (PET).

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease* / diagnostic imaging
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Biomarkers
  • Humans
  • Molecular Imaging
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / methods

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides