PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Quantitative analysis of regional distribution of tau pathology with 11C-PBB3-PET in a clinical setting.

  • Elham Yousefzadeh-Nowshahr,
  • Gordon Winter,
  • Peter Bohn,
  • Katharina Kneer,
  • Christine A F von Arnim,
  • Markus Otto,
  • Christoph Solbach,
  • Sarah Anderl-Straub,
  • Dörte Polivka,
  • Patrick Fissler,
  • Joachim Strobel,
  • Peter Kletting,
  • Matthias W Riepe,
  • Makoto Higuchi,
  • Gerhard Glatting,
  • Albert Ludolph,
  • Ambros J Beer,
  • Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266906
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 4
p. e0266906

Abstract

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PurposeThe recent developments of tau-positron emission tomography (tau-PET) enable in vivo assessment of neuropathological tau aggregates. Among the tau-specific tracers, the application of 11C-pyridinyl-butadienyl-benzothiazole 3 (11C-PBB3) in PET shows high sensitivity to Alzheimer disease (AD)-related tau deposition. The current study investigates the regional tau load in patients within the AD continuum, biomarker-negative individuals (BN) and patients with suspected non-AD pathophysiology (SNAP) using 11C-PBB3-PET.Materials and methodsA total of 23 memory clinic outpatients with recent decline of episodic memory were examined using 11C-PBB3-PET. Pittsburg compound B (11C-PIB) PET was available for 17, 18F-flurodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET for 16, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein levels for 11 patients. CSF biomarkers were considered abnormal based on Aβ42 ( 450 ng/L). The PET biomarkers were classified as positive or negative using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis and visual assessment. Using the amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration (A/T/N) scheme, patients were grouped as within the AD continuum, SNAP, and BN based on amyloid and neurodegeneration status. The 11C-PBB3 load detected by PET was compared among the groups using both atlas-based and voxel-wise analyses.ResultsSeven patients were identified as within the AD continuum, 10 SNAP and 6 BN. In voxel-wise analysis, significantly higher 11C-PBB3 binding was observed in the AD continuum group compared to the BN patients in the cingulate gyrus, tempo-parieto-occipital junction and frontal lobe. Compared to the SNAP group, patients within the AD continuum had a considerably increased 11C-PBB3 uptake in the posterior cingulate cortex. There was no significant difference between SNAP and BN groups. The atlas-based analysis supported the outcome of the voxel-wise quantification analysis.ConclusionOur results suggest that 11C-PBB3-PET can effectively analyze regional tau load and has the potential to differentiate patients in the AD continuum group from the BN and SNAP group.