Background: 11C PIB PET has been shown to correlate with the presence
of brain amyloid in patients with neurodegenerative disease. The short
half-life of 11C makes the clinical use of 11C PIB problematic. Imaging
using 18F-PET amyloid ligands would be preferable. Therefore, the brain
amyloid imaging agent 18F AV-138 was evaluated clinically. Methods:
Five normal control (MMSE median 29.5, range 29-30) subjects (NC) and
mild to moderate 4 Alzheimer’s Disease (MMSE median 22, range 14-24)
patients (AD) were imaged with 18F AV-138 PET. Subjects received 5 mCi
(mean 4.6, range 3.0-5.5) of 18F AV-138 and thereafter dynamic brain PET
imaging for 3 hrs was performed. Regional brain accumulation was eval-
uated with Logan plot analysis over 90 minutes to obtain a distribution
volume ratio (DVR) and a 40-60 minute frame set was used to obtain a
delay phase uptake ratio (DUR); the cerebellum was used as a reference
region for both. PET image volumes were co-registered the individuals
MRI scans. MRI scans were spatially normalized to the MNI template by
which regions were defined. Global DVR and DUR ratios were calculated
using a summation of pre-frontal, orbito-frontal, parietal, temporal, anterior
cingulate, and posterior cingulate regional activity. Results from NC and
AD subjects were compared. Results: Median global DVR (DUR) values
were 1.14 (1.18) and 1.55 (1.51) for NC and AD subjects, respectively,
which showed good separation of the groups (p0.030 for DVR and
p0.056 for DUR). Bland-Altman plot comparing the DVR and DUR
methods suggested good correlation. The DUR for 11C PIB and 18F AV-
138 in an AD patient was 2.23 and 1.53 respectively, and was 1.10 and 1.11
in a NC subject. Conclusions: 18F AV-138 is able to distinguish NC from
AD subjects based on amyloid-related uptake as seen on PET.
IC-P3-197 APOLIPOPROTEIN GENOTYPE PREDICTS RATE
OF BRAIN ATROPHY IN HEALTHY ELDERLY
ADULTS: A TENSOR-BASED MORPHOMETRY
STUDY
Po-Haong Lu, Paul Thompson, Alex Leow, Grace Lee, Agatha Lee,
Daniel Geschwind, Stephanie Stewart, George Bartzokis, UCLA, Los
Background: Apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 genotype, coded on chromosome
19, is a strong risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Conversely, the presence of the ε2 allele has been shown to mitigate
against cognitive decline. Tensor-based morphometry (TBM), a novel
computational approach for visualizing longitudinal progression of brain
atrophy, was used to determine whether cognitively intact elderly partici-
pants with the ε4 allele demonstrate greater volume reduction than those
with the ε2 allele. Methods: Healthy elderly volunteers, aged 55 or older,
were recruited from the community and hospital staff. They were evaluated
with a baseline and follow-up MRI scan (mean scan interval
4.72 years,
sd
0.55) and completed APOE genotyping. Nineteen participants were
included in the study of which 11 had the ε4 allele (2 were homozygous for
the ε4 allele) and 8 had the ε2/ε3 genotype. The two groups did not differ
significantly on any demographic characteristics. TBM was used to create
3D maps of local brain tissue atrophy rates for individual participants by
globally aligning and non-linearly deforming all images to a common brain
template. Each scan pair was then deformed to each other using high
density elastic image registration. These spatially detailed 3D maps were
compared between the two groups. Results: A whole brain analysis was
performed and annual atrophy rates were significantly greater for ε4 car-
riers compared to the ε2 carriers. Specifically, the ε4 group demonstrated
greater volume loss in white and gray matter regions of the lateral frontal
lobe, insula, and temporal lobes, including the hippocampus. Conclusions:
TBM appears to be useful in tracking longitudinal progression of brain
atrophy in cognitively asymptomatic adults and possession of the ε4 allele
T85
Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium IC-P3: Poster Presentations