Correlation between β-amyloid deposits revealed by BF-227-PET imaging and brain atrophy detected by voxel-based morphometry-MR imaging: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition was associated with local atrophy of corresponding areas in the brain. METHODS: [11C]2-[2-(2-Dimethylaminothiazol-5-yl) ethenyl-6-[2-(fluoro)ethoxy]benzoxazole (BF-227)-PET, MRI and neuropsychological tests were carried out on 56 subjects, out of which 21 were patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 20 were patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 15 were normal controls (NC). The BF-227 uptake in each local brain region was set up with automated anatomical labeling atlas using Wake Forest University PickAtlas software and local standardized uptake value ratios of BF-227 were calculated as the average value of right and left using the MRIcron software. RESULTS: Group comparisons of Aβ deposition as determined by BF-227 uptake using PET imaging showed no significant differences between MCI and AD. Aβ deposition was significantly higher in MCI and AD than in NC. The correlation analysis between local Aβ deposition and gray matter atrophy showed that in AD, the Aβ deposition in the inferior temporal gyrus was strongly related to the gray matter atrophy in this region. On the contrary, the Aβ deposition in the precuneus was associated with the atrophy in the right occipital-temporal region. In the NC, the Aβ deposition in the inferior temporal gyrus was associated with the atrophy in the precuneus. CONCLUSION: In the AD, the relationship between the Aβ deposition and local atrophy is area-dependent. In NC, Aβ deposition in the inferior temporal gyrus correlated to the atrophy in the precuneus.