title: 18F-flutemetamol amyloid imaging in Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment: a phase 2 trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The most widely studied positron emission tomography ligand for in vivo beta-amyloid imaging is (11)C-Pittsburgh compound B ((11)C-PIB). Its availability, however, is limited by the need for an on-site cyclotron. Validation of the (18)F-labeled PIB derivative (18)F-flutemetamol could significantly enhance access to this novel technology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven patients with early-stage clinically probable Alzheimer disease (AD), 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 15 cognitively intact healthy volunteers (HVs) above and 10 HVs below 55 years of age participated. The primary endpoint was the efficacy of blinded visual assessments of (18)F-flutemetamol scans in assigning subjects to a raised versus normal uptake category, with clinical diagnosis as the standard of truth (SOT). As secondary objectives, we determined the correlation between the regional standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) for (18)F-flutemetamol and its parent molecule (11)C-PIB in 20 of the AD subjects and 20 of the MCI patients. We also determined test-retest variability of (18)F-flutemetamol SUVRs in 5 of the AD subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Blinded visual assessments of (18)F-flutemetamol scans assigned 25 of 27 scans from AD subjects and 1 of 15 scans from the elderly HVs to the raised category, corresponding to a sensitivity of 93.1% and a specificity of 93.3% against the SOT. Correlation coefficients between cortical (18)F-flutemetamol SUVRs and (11)C-PIB SUVRs ranged from 0.89 to 0.92. Test-retest variabilities of regional SUVRs were 1 to 4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (18)F-Flutemetamol performs similarly to the (11)C-PIB parent molecule within the same subjects and provides high test-retest replicability and potentially much wider accessibility for clinical and research use.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. rik.vandenberghe@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
authors.forename: Rik
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vandenberghe
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Laere
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivanoiu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bastin
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Triau
authors.forename: Steen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasselbalch
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korner
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Minthon
authors.forename: Gaëtan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garraux
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nelissen
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bormans
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: Rikard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Owenius
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thurfjell
authors.forename: Gill
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Farrar
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Brooks
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000814:Aniline Compounds; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013844:Thiazoles
chemical_list: C475519:2-(4'-(methylamino)phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole; D000814:Aniline Compounds; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013844:Thiazoles; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18