Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed by postmortem detection of pathological lesions that accumulate in specific brain regions. Although the presence of both beta-amyloid plaques and tau-bearing neurofibrillary lesions defines Alzheimer's disease, the distribution of neurofibrillary lesions alone correlates strongly with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. A whole-brain imaging test capable of detecting these lesions in premortem cases could have great potential for staging and differentially diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. Here we discuss the challenges in developing a whole-brain imaging approach for detection of this intracellular target.
MeSH terms
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Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis*
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Amyloid beta-Peptides / analysis
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Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry
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Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
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Binding, Competitive / physiology
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Biomarkers / analysis
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Brain / metabolism
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Brain / pathology*
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Brain / physiopathology
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Coloring Agents / chemistry
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Coloring Agents / metabolism
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Diagnostic Imaging / methods*
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Diagnostic Imaging / trends
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Humans
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Neurofibrillary Tangles / metabolism
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Neurofibrillary Tangles / pathology*
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Protein Binding / physiology
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Tauopathies / diagnosis*
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tau Proteins / analysis
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tau Proteins / chemistry
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tau Proteins / metabolism
Substances
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Amyloid beta-Peptides
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Biomarkers
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Coloring Agents
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tau Proteins