Development of positron-emission tomography/single-photon emission computed tomography imaging probes for in vivo detection of beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's brains.
Currently, the development of radiotracers for in vivo imaging of beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains is an important, active area of molecular imaging. Postmortem brains of AD patients reveal neuropathologic features: the presence of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which contain beta-amyloid peptides and highly phosphorylated tau proteins. Increases in the concentration of beta-amyloid in the course of the disease lead to changes in AD brains. Thus, when used in combination with positron-emission tomography/single-photon emission computed tomography (PET/SPECT), beta-amyloid imaging agents could serve as surrogate markers for the early diagnosis and neuropathogenetic studies of AD. Furthermore, quantitative evaluation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain could facilitate the evaluation of the efficacy of antiamyloid therapies that are currently being investigated. This paper reviews our research on the development of PET/SPECT imaging agents for in vivo detection of beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's brains.
Ono
Masahiro
M
Department of Patho-Functional Bioanalyses, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Japan. ono@pharm.kyoto-u.ac.jp
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000737:chemistry; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000737:chemistry; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000737:chemistry; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D001572:Benzofurans; D005419:Flavonoids; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013267:Stilbenes; C105430:benzofuran