Molecular imaging of Alzheimer's disease

The ever-growing average age of the society significantly increases the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease. The increased prevalence represents considerable social and economic burden, which urges the development of diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the field. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, the typical histopathological abnormality of which are well known. The detection of functional changes results in the early diagnosis of the disease, which precedes the morphological changes by years. Positron-emission tomography plays an important role in the demonstration of metabolic changes. The glucose metabolic pattern differs significantly in each clinical form of dementia. The most important beta-amyloid-binding radiopharmaceuticals that should be highlighted are [C-11]Pittsburgh compound B that is widely used in the research and [F-18]florbetapir that is commonly approved in diagnostics. Tracers visualising neurofibrillary tangles consisting of tau protein appeared most recently. The development continues; newer and newer radiopharmaceuticals appear. These tracers play an important role in both the research and the diagnostics.