Processing of transmission data from an uncollimated single photon source

The EXACT 3D PET scanner uses a Cs-137 single photon rotating point source for the transmission scan. As the source is uncollimated, the transmission data are contaminated by scatter. It has been suggested that segmentation of the reconstructed image can restore the quantitative information in the image. We study here if the results can be further improved by the application of a scale factor for every transaxial plane. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

In vivo dopaminergic and serotonergic dysfunction inDCTN1gene mutation carriers

Photograph of a scene during a Kaw Nation Pow Wow

Anterior brain glucose hypometabolism predates dementia in progranulin mutation carriers

OBJECTIVE: In this prospective cohort study, we investigated cerebral glucose metabolism reductions on [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET in progranulin (GRN) mutation carriers prior to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) onset. METHODS: Nine mutation carriers (age 51.5 ± 13.5 years) and 11 noncarriers (age 52.7 ± 9.5 years) from 5 families with FTD due to GRN mutations underwent brain scanning with FDG-PET and MRI and clinical evaluation. Normalized FDG uptake values were calculated with reference to the pons. PET images were analyzed with regions of interest (ROI) and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) approaches. RESULTS: Compared with noncarriers, GRN mutation carriers had a lowered anterior-to-posterior (AP) ratio of FDG uptake (0.86 ± 0.09 vs 0.92 ± 0.05) and less left-right asymmetry, consistent with an overall pattern of right anterior cerebral hypometabolism. This pattern was observed regardless of whether they were deemed clinically symptomatic no dementia or asymptomatic. Individual ROIs with lowered FDG uptake included right anterior cingulate, insula, and gyrus rectus. SPM analysis supported and extended these findings, demonstrating abnormalities in the right and left medial frontal regions, right insular cortex, right precentral and middle frontal gyri, and right cerebellum. Right AP ratio was correlated with cognitive and clinical scores (modified Mini-Mental State Examination r = 0.74; Functional Rating Scale r = −0.73) but not age and years to estimated onset in mutation carriers. CONCLUSION: The frontotemporal lobar degenerative process associated with GRN mutations appears to begin many years prior to the average age at FTD onset (late 50s–early 60s). Right medial and ventral frontal cortex and insula may be affected in this process but the specific regional patterns associated with specific clinical variants remain to be elucidated

PBB3 Imaging in Parkinsonian disorders: Evidence for binding to abnormally aggregated proteins in addition to tau proteins

Objective: To study selective regional binding for tau pathology in vivo, using PET with [11C]PBB3 ([11C]methylamino pyridin-3-yl buta-1,3-dienyl benzo[d]thiazol-6-ol) in tauopathies, and in conditions not typically associated with tauopathy. Background: Tau imaging is a promising tool to study the link between tau and neurodegeneration. The specificity of tracers in vivo however remains uncertain, and off target binding is frequently present, limiting its use in parkinsonian disorders. Methods: Dynamic PET scans were obtained for 70 min after the bolus injection of [11C]PBB3 (mean dose 518.97MBq) in five PSP subjects, 1 subject with DCTN1 mutation and PSP phenotype,3 asymptomatic SNCA duplication carriers, 1 MSA subject, and 7 healthy controls of similar age. The occipital cortex was used as reference region for the PSP , the DCTN1 mutation and the MSA subjects. The cerebellar white matter was used as a reference region for the SNCA duplication carriers. Tissue reference Logan analysis was applied to each region of interest (ROI) using the appropriate reference region. Results: In PSP subjects, the highest retention of [11C]PBB3 was observed in putamen, midbrain, globus pallidus and substantia nigra. Longer disease duration and more advanced clinical severity were generally associated with higher tracer retention. The DCTN1/PSP phenotype case showed increased binding in putamen, parietal lobe, and globus pallidus. In SNCA duplication carriers there was a significant increase of [11C] PBB3 binding compared to controls in globus pallidus, putamen, thalamus, ventral striatum, substantia nigra, and pedunculopontine nucleus. The MSA case showed increased binding in comparison to the control group in frontal lobe, globus pallidus, midbrain, parietal lobe, putamen, temporal lobe, substantia nigra, thalamus and ventral striatum. Conclusions: All PSP patients showed increased retention of the tracer in the basal ganglia, as clinically expected. However, binding was also present in asymptomatic SNCA duplication carriers as well as the subject with MSA, which are not typically associated with pathological tau deposition. This suggests the possibility that [11C]PBB3 binds to alpha-synuclein or other proteins involved in neurodegeneration