Accuracy of Quantitative Positron Emission Tomography Assessment for Differentiating Cerebral Age-related from Pathological Amyloid Deposition: A Preliminary Report from a Case-series Study

Previous observational studies using old qualitative methods have not clarified the role of amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) in the assessment of dementia. Given the moderately positive predictive value, the presence of amyloid deposition does not necessarily imply the diagnosis of dementia. Conversely, the absence of amyloid PET deposition has been shown to be useful in excluding the neurodegenerative pathology, irrespective of the aging process. We describe the clinical application of new innovative software recently developed to increase the sensitivity of this technique and to discriminate pathological deposition of cerebral amyloid from the age-related changes, reporting preliminary findings from a case-series study. In three different clinical profiles, we underline the need of integrating neuropsychological assessment and findings with this new PET scan and software that provide quantitative information of the cerebral amyloid and may increase the probability of rapid and accurate assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Although this amyloid quantification is promising, these preliminary results should be confirmed in future prospective studies with adequate sample size.