[(18)F]FMM PET imaging detects Aβ deposition in patients along the continuum from normal cognitive status to dementia of AD and discriminates AD patients from HC subjects, similar to [(11)C]PIB PET.

The aim of this study is to identify mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using amyloid imaging of beta amyloid (Aβ) deposition and FDG imaging of reflecting neuronal dysfunction as PET biomarkers. Sixty-eight MCI patients underwent cognitive testing, [11C]-PIB PET and [18F]-FDG PET at baseline and follow-up. Regions of interest were defined on co-registered MRI. PIB distribution volume ratio (DVR) was calculated using Logan graphical analysis, and the standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) on the same regions was used as quantitative analysis for [18F]-FDG. Thirty (44.1%) of all 68 MCI patients converted to AD over 19.2±7.1 months. The annual rate of MCI conversion was 23.4%. A positive Aβ PET biomarker significantly identified MCI due to AD in individual MCI subjects with a sensitivity (SS) of 96.6% and specificity (SP) of 42.1%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 56.8%. A positive Aβ biomarker in APOE ε4/4 carriers distinguished with a SS of 100%. In individual MCI subjects who had a prominent impairment in episodic memory and aged older than 75 years, an Aβ biomarker identified MCI due to AD with a greater SS of 100%, SP of 66.6% and PPV of 80%, compared to FDG biomarker alone or both PET biomarkers combined. In contrast, when assessed in precuneus, both Aβ and FDG biomarkers had the greatest level of certainty for MCI due to AD with a PPV of 87.8%. The Aβ PET biomarker primarily defines MCI due to AD in individual MCI subjects. Furthermore, combined FDG biomarker in a cortical region of precuneus provides an added diagnostic value in predicting AD over a short period.

We investigated whether [11C]-PIB PET detects underlying amyloid deposition at clinically different stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and preclinical dementia. The Japanese cohort of 214 subjects underwent cognitive testing and 60-min dynamic [11C]-PIB PET. [11C]-PIB data were acquired from 35-60 min after injection. Regions of interest were defined on co-registered MRI. Distribution volume ratios (DVR) of PIB retention were determined using Logan graphical analysis. All 56 patients with AD showed a robust increase in PIB retention in cortical areas (typical PIB AD-pattern). A mean DVR value in 11 patients with moderate AD (CDR: 2.1 ± 0.4) showed significantly higher PIB retention (2.38 ± 0.42, p < 0.01) than amyloid-negative healthy control (HC) subjects. The DVR values in 23 patients with very mild AD (CDR: 0.5) and 22 patients with mild AD (CDR: 1.0) were 2.32 ± 0.45 and 2.34 ± 0.42, respectively, similar to moderate AD. In contrast, 28 (48%) of the 58 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients (MMSE: 27.3 ± 1.7) showed a typical AD-like pattern with a DVR value of 2.07 ± 0.34. Further, 17 (18%) of 91 HC subjects had a typical AD-like pattern with a DVR value of 2.06 ± 0.28. They did not significantly differ from very mild AD. The prevalence of AD among the 53 amyloid positive patients aged 75 years or older increased greatly to 74% whereas that of amyloid positive HC decreased by only 9% and amyloid positive MCI by 17%. Prodromal AD and AD dementia is identified, based on cognitive function and amyloid deposition by PIB PET imaging. Further, the cortical amyloid deposition could be detected at preclinical stage of AD.

To clarify the function of human atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), we examined hANP levels in the CSF of patients with various neurological diseases. The subjects were 16 controls without neurological disease and 45 patients with neurological disease. The 45 patients with neurological disease were divided into a group of 15 patients with intracranial hypertension (IH) and a group of 30 patients with normal pressure (NP). hANP in both CSF (1-hANP) and serum (s-hANP) was measured by RIA. Patients with IH were followed up. We analyzed correlations between 1-hANP and other parameters of CSF. Increase in concentration of 1-hANP was positively correlated with intracranial pressure (ICP; r = 0.72; p < 0.01), but not with other CSF parameters or with s-hANP. The concentration of 1-hANP appeared to be increased especially over a threshold value of ICP. In a follow-up study of patients with IH, changes in 1-hANP paralleled changes in ICP in every case (r = 0.79; p < 0.01). Our findings strongly suggest that 1-hANP plays an important role in the regulation of ICP in humans.

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