Loading...
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) is critical for finding a successful disease-modifying therapy. Several imaging markers have shown promise in identifying individuals at risk for AD. Now, researchers have tested the ability of using FDDNP, a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer that binds to amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, to differentiate early AD from normal aging. At baseline, 83 adults (age range, 49–84) underwent imaging and neuropsychological testing; 12 had follow-up imaging and testing about 2 years later.
The 28 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had significantly more FDDNP binding than did the 30 normal controls and significantly less FDDNP binding than did the 25 patients with clinical A…