FDDNP-PET Scanning of Cerebral Amyloid and Tau Deposits in MCI S61.004

The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, amyloid senile plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles, also accumulate in cortical brain regions in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are at risk for Alzheimer's disease. A non-invasive method to determine regional cerebral patterns of these abnormal protein aggregates would facilitate early diagnosis and monitoring of novel treatments to prevent and eliminate their accumulation. We performed positron emission tomography (PET) scans on 60 subjects (20 cognitively intact controls, 20 with MCI, 20 with Alzheimer's disease) after intravenous injections of 2-(1-{6-[(2-[F-18}fluoroethyl)(methyl)amnio]-2-napthyl} ethylidene)malononitrile (FDDNP), a molecule …