Diagnostic imaging of Alzheimer's disease with copper and technetium complexes

The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to synaptic failure and neuronal death. This review discusses the development of copper and technetium coordination complexes designed as radiopharmaceuticals to assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using positron emission tomography or single photon emission computed tomography. Technetium complexes used to image regional brain perfusion are discussed as well as copper and technetium complexes specifically designed to bind to amyloid-p plaques that are associated with the onset of symptoms of the disease. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.