| Study Director |
William Jagust, MD and Gil Rabinovici, MD |
| Sponsors |
National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Association |
| Official Study Title |
Amyloid PET in AD, FTLD & PPA: Diagnosis, Functional & Structural Correlations |
| Conditions Studied |
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), semantic dementia (SD), progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), Alzheimer's disease (AD), logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) |
| Purpose |
The purpose of this study is to determine if amyloid PET imaging with Pittsburgh Compound-B (PIB) can improve diagnostic accuracy in discriminating between AD and FTD. |
| Inclusion Criteria |
Participants must be over the age of 50 and meet criteria for either frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or healthy aging group. Patients are encouraged but not required to co-enroll in the Frontotemporal Dementia: Genes, Images and Emotions or New Approaches to Dementia Heterogeneity studies. |
| Exclusion Criteria |
Participants cannot have a history of another major neurological disorder that could be a potential cause of dementia, active substance abuse, major systemic illnesses including active cancer, renal or liver failure, respiratory failure requiring oxygen, or use of current medications likely to affect the central nervous system (CNS). Patients are not eligible if they have had a nuclear imaging study (PET or SPECT) in the past year or are actively enrolled in an anti-amyloid clinical trial. |
| Testing |
PET imaging at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley. Patients are studied with PIB (90 min scan) and FDG (30 min scan), with a break in between the two scans. The results of the scan will be released to the participant’s primary neurologist at the Memory and Aging Center, typically within 2-4 weeks. |
| Frequency of Visits |
One visit, some patients may be asked to come back for a second scan 1-2 years later. |
| Materials Needed Prior to Evaluation |
None |
| Costs |
No costs will be charged for any of the study procedures. Patients will be sent a check for $100 if they complete both scans. |
