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Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 7/2015

01-06-2015 | Original Article

[18F]THK-5117 PET for assessing neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

Authors: Ryuichi Harada, Nobuyuki Okamura, Shozo Furumoto, Katsutoshi Furukawa, Aiko Ishiki, Naoki Tomita, Kotaro Hiraoka, Shoichi Watanuki, Miho Shidahara, Masayasu Miyake, Yoichi Ishikawa, Rin Matsuda, Akie Inami, Takeo Yoshikawa, Tetsuro Tago, Yoshihito Funaki, Ren Iwata, Manabu Tashiro, Kazuhiko Yanai, Hiroyuki Arai, Yukitsuka Kudo

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 7/2015

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Abstract

Purpose

Visualization of the spatial distribution of neurofibrillary tangles would help in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dementia. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical utility of [18F]THK-5117 as a highly selective tau imaging radiotracer.

Methods

We initially evaluated in vitro binding of [3H]THK-5117 in post-mortem brain tissues from patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In clinical PET studies, [18F]THK-5117 retention in eight patients with AD was compared with that in six healthy elderly controls. Ten subjects underwent an additional [11C]PiB PET scan within 2 weeks.

Results

In post-mortem brain samples, THK-5117 bound selectively to neurofibrillary deposits, which differed from the binding target of PiB. In clinical PET studies, [18F]THK-5117 binding in the temporal lobe clearly distinguished patients with AD from healthy elderly subjects. Compared with [11C]PiB, [18F]THK-5117 retention was higher in the medial temporal cortex.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that [18F]THK-5117 provides regional information on neurofibrillary pathology in living subjects.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
[18F]THK-5117 PET for assessing neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors
Ryuichi Harada
Nobuyuki Okamura
Shozo Furumoto
Katsutoshi Furukawa
Aiko Ishiki
Naoki Tomita
Kotaro Hiraoka
Shoichi Watanuki
Miho Shidahara
Masayasu Miyake
Yoichi Ishikawa
Rin Matsuda
Akie Inami
Takeo Yoshikawa
Tetsuro Tago
Yoshihito Funaki
Ren Iwata
Manabu Tashiro
Kazuhiko Yanai
Hiroyuki Arai
Yukitsuka Kudo
Publication date
01-06-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 7/2015
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-015-3035-4

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