USING PITTSBURGH COMPOUND B FOR PET IMAGING ACROSS THE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE SPECTRUM

Use of biomarkers in the detection of early and preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become of central importance for the diagnosis of AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and preclinical AD following publication of the NIA-Alzheimer's Association revised criteria for diagnosis across the spectrum of AD pathogenesis. The use of in vivo PET amyloid imaging agents, such as Pittsburgh Compound-B, allows early detection of AD pathological processes and subsequent neurodegeneration. Imaging with PiB provides early, or perhaps even preclinical, detection of disease and accurately distinguishes AD from dementias of other etiologies in which the diagnostic distinction is difficult to make clinically. From a research perspective, utilizing amyloid imaging agents allows us to study relationships between amyloid pathology and changes in cognition, brain structure, and function across the continuum from normal aging to MCI to AD. The present review focuses on use of PiB-PET across the spectrum of AD pathogenesis.