Amyloid PET Imaging: Standard Procedures and Semiquantification

Abstract

Amyloid plaques are a neuropathologic hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which can be imaged through positron emission tomography (PET) technology using radiopharmaceuticals that selectively bind to the fibrillar aggregates of amyloid-β plaques (Amy-PET). Several radiotracers for amyloid PET have been validated (¹¹C-Pittsburgh compound B and the ¹⁸F-labeled compounds such as ¹⁸F-florbetaben, ¹⁸F-florbetapir, and ¹⁸F-flutemetamol). Images can be interpreted by means of visual/qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative criteria. Here, we summarize the main differences between the available radiotracers for Amy-PET, the proposed interpretation criteria, and main proposed quantification methods.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyloid PET; Biomarkers; Centiloids; Early perfusion amyloid PET imaging.