Added value and limitations of amyloid-PET imaging: review and analysis of selected cases of mild cognitive impairment and dementia

ABSTRACT

Amyloid-positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain detects elevated amyloid-beta (amyloid-β) neuritic plaques in vivo, which can be helpful in appropriately selected cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, when Alzheimer’s disease remains a possible etiology, after a comprehensive clinical evaluation. We reviewed cases of cognitively impaired patients who underwent amyloid-PET imaging because of diagnostic uncertainty. Pre- and post-PET elements of diagnosis and management were first compared, to assess impact of scan results on clinical decision-making, and then an analysis of those decisions was undertaken in appropriate clinical situations, to delineate the added value and limitations of amyloid-PET imaging. The potential benefits and limitations of this diagnostic tool are important to understand in an era when the utility of such scans in clinical practice is evolving.

KEY WORDS:

• Amyloid-PET
• Alzheimer’s disease
• mild cognitive impairment
• dementia
• neuroimaging

Acknowledgment

There are no outside sources of support or funding which require acknowledgment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.