Usefulness of Positron Emission Tomography to Detect Cerebral Amyloid as a Means to Diagnose Neurodegenerative Disease

Alzheimer's disease is characterized histologically by the accumulation of a subtype of amyloid protein—beta amyloid—in the brain parenchyma in the form of amyloid plaques. In another neurodegenerative disorder, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, the accumulation of beta amyloid occurs within the walls of the cerebral vessels. With recent advances in imaging technology, we can not only image amyloid plaques in the brain parenchyma at an earlier stage of disease, but can also often correlate the presence of Alzheimer's disease with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. We present a case of suspected Alzheimer's disease and discuss the association in this patient between cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer's disease, as well as the benefits of a unique nuclear imaging modality, amyloid positron emission tomography, in diagnosing dementia.