Regional cerebral THK5351 accumulations correlate with neuropsychological test scores in Alzheimer continuum

OBJECTIVE(S): We evaluated the relationship between regional accumulations of the tau positron emission tomography (PET) tracer THK5351 and cognitive dysfunction in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. METHODS: The cases of 18 patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD who underwent three-dimensional MRI, fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG)-(PET), Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-amyloid PET, and THK5351-tau PET were analyzed. Their mean age was 70.6±11.3, their mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was 22.3±6.8, and their mean Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subtest (ADAS) score was 12.5±7.3. To determine the correlation between each patient's four imaging results and their MMSE and ADAS scores, we performed a voxel-wise statistical analysis with statistical parametric mapping (SPM). RESULTS: The SPM analysis showed that the bilateral parietotemporal FDG accumulations and MMSE scores were positively correlated, and the bilateral parietotemporal FDG accumulations were negatively correlated with ADAS scores. There were significant correlations between bilateral parietotemporal and left posterior cingulate/precuneus THK5351 accumulations and MMSE/ADAS scores. CONCLUSION: In the AD brain, THK5351 correlates with neuropsychological test scores as well as or more additional than FDG due to its affinity for both tau and monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), and measurements of THK5351 may thus be useful in estimating the progression of AD.