2-(4--(methylamino)phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole and Parkinson-Disease

A subtle cognitive impairment can be detected early in the course of Parkinson's disease (PD). Executive, memory and visuospatial functions are specifically affected, but the underlying pathophysiological basis is not well elucidated yet and may be heterogeneous. The recent identification of a PD-related cognitive metabolic pattern (PDCP), including hypometabolism in associative frontal, parietal and posterior limbic structures, has integrated the classical notion of a striato-frontal syndrome at the basis of cognitive dys-function. Recent evidence suggests that whilst executive dys-function is seen in virtually all PD patients, visuospatial and memory impairment may share a higher risk for the subsequent development of dementia. By means of perfusion SPECT and [18F]FDG-PET, cortical dys-function may be highlighted since the early stages, it is more evident in PD patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and reaches the maximum in PD dementia (PDD). Posterior temporo-parieto-occipital dys-function in associative and limbic cortex, closely resembling that found in Alzheimer's disease patients, is found in PDD, with a more severe occipital hypometabolism and a relatively milder hypometabolism in medial temporal lobe structures. Furthermore, deficit of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) can be found by means of [11C]MP4A-PET already in early stage of PD, especially in posterior regions, then becoming more severe in PDD and in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Administration of AchE inhibitors to PDD patients increased brain metabolism in bilateral frontal and left parietal regions, and left posterior cingulate. Finally, the recent availability of radiopharmaceuticals able to disclose amyloid brain deposition has allowed to demonstrate amyloid load in a part of patients with PDD, possibly due to diffuse rather than neuritic plaques. Brain PET and SPECT have strongly contributed to the understanding of the pathophysiology of cognitive impairment in PD and may serve as probes to monitor the effects of therapeutic interventions.

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Benzothiazoles; Brain; Brain Mapping; Cognition Disorders; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Thiazoles; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

Dementia is a frequent and devastating non-motor complication of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). There is growing evidence of a synergistic role of Alzheimer's-type brain lesions containing τ and amyloid-β (Aβ) proteins and cortical Lewy aggregates in PD-related dementia (PDD). Therefore, biomarkers of both τ and Aβ may be seen as diagnostic and predictive markers of PDD. Here, we review the available studies in PD and PDD using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) total τ, phospho-τ, and/or Aβ levels, and PET probes targeting Alzheimer's-type lesions. Overall, high CSF τ and phospho-τ levels and/or low CSF Aβ levels have been found in part of PDD patients, and a longitudinal study has found greater worsening in cognitive performance over time in non-demented PD patients with low baseline CSF Aβ levels. Few studies are available on the use of PET imaging in PD, all of them using the Pittsburgh B compound (PIB), and with figures of about 30% of scans with PIB uptake in the AD-range in PDD. We conclude that these CSF and PET markers deserve further evaluation as candidate biomarkers of dementia in PD. According to this, we are currently undertaking a longitudinal project on the predictive value of dementia of the combined use of CSF τ and Aβ and (18)F-FDDNP PET in PD.

Topics: Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Benzothiazoles; Cerebral Cortex; Dementia; Humans; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; tau Proteins; Thiazoles

To develop imaging biomarkers of diseases in the Lewy body spectrum and to validate these markers against postmortem neuropathologic findings.. Four cognitively normal participants with Parkinson disease (PD), 4 with PD with cognitive impairments, and 10 with dementia with Lewy bodies underwent amyloid imaging with [11C]Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) and dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging with [11C]Altropane. All 18 had annual neurologic examinations. All cognitively normal participants with PD developed cognitive impairment before death. Neuropathologic examinations assessed and scored Braak Lewy bodies, Thal distribution of amyloid, Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuritic amyloid plaques, Braak neurofibrillary tangles, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, as well as total amyloid plaque burden in the superior frontal, superior parietal, occipital, and inferior temporal cortical regions. PET data were expressed as the standardized uptake value ratio with cerebellar reference. Analyses accounted for the interval between imaging and autopsy.. All 18 patients met neuropathologic criteria for Lewy body disease; the DAT concentration was low in each case. All patients with elevated [11C]PiB retention measured in a neocortical aggregate had β-amyloid deposits at autopsy. [11C]PiB retention significantly correlated with neuritic plaque burden and with total plaque burden. [11C]PiB retention also significantly correlated with the severity of both Braak stages of neurofibrillary tangle and Lewy body scores. Neuritic plaque burden was significantly associated with neurofibrillary tangle pathology.. Antemortem [11C]Altropane PET is a sensitive measure of substantia nigra degeneration. [11C]PiB scans accurately reflect cortical amyloid deposits seen at autopsy. These findings support the use of molecular imaging in the evaluation of patients with Lewy body diseases.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Autopsy; Brain; Cocaine; Contrast Media; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Female; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Thiazoles

In subjects with amyloid deposition, striatal accumulation of. Seventy-three subjects who complained of cognitive disturbance underwent dynamic PiB-PET studies and showed positive PiB accumulation were retrospectively selected. These subjects included 34 AD, 26 mild cognitive impairment, 2 frontotemporal lobar degeneration, 2 Parkinson's disease, 5 dementia with Lewy bodies, and 4 undefined diagnosis patients. Individual BP. There were highly significant correlations between striatal and prefrontal BP. Our study demonstrated positive correlations in amyloid deposits between the striatum and other cortical areas with functional and anatomical links. The amyloid distribution in the brain is not random, but spreads following the functional and anatomical connections.

Topics: Aged; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid; Aniline Compounds; Cerebral Cortex; Cognitive Dysfunction; Corpus Striatum; Female; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Retrospective Studies; Thiazoles

Participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography for amyloid-β (. Clinical PSP patients showed bilaterally elevated

Topics: Aged; Aniline Compounds; Brain; Brain Mapping; Carbolines; Case-Control Studies; Cognition Disorders; Diagnosis; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Severity of Illness Index; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive; tau Proteins; Thiazoles

Although most previous cognitive studies of β-amyloidopathy in PD focused on cortical plaque deposition, recent postmortem studies point to an important role of striatal β-amyloid plaque deposition. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative contributions of striatal and cortical β-amyloidopathy to cognitive impairment in PD.. Patients with PD (n = 62; age, 68.9 ± 6.4 years; H & Y stage: 2.7 ± 0.5; MoCA score: 25.2 ± 3.0) underwent [(11) C]Pittsburgh compound B β-amyloid, [(11) C]dihydrotetrabenazine monoaminergic, and [(11) C]methyl-4-piperidinyl propionate acetylcholinesterase brain PET imaging and neuropsychological assessment. [(11) C]Pittsburgh compound B β-amyloid data from young to middle-aged healthy subjects were used to define elevated [(11) C]Pittsburgh compound B binding in patients.. Elevated cortical and striatal β-amyloid deposition were present in 37% and 16%, respectively, of this predominantly nondemented cohort of patients with PD. Increased striatal β-amyloid deposition occurred in half of all subjects with increased cortical β-amyloid deposition. In contrast, increased striatal β-amyloid deposition did not occur in the absence of increased cortical β-amyloid deposition. Analysis of covariance using global composite cognitive z scores as the outcome parameter showed significant regressor effects for combined striatal and cortical β-amyloidopathy (F = 4.18; P = 0.02) after adjusting for covariate effects of cortical cholinergic activity (F = 5.67; P = 0.02), caudate nucleus monoaminergic binding, duration of disease, and age (total model: F = 3.55; P = 0.0048). Post-hoc analysis showed significantly lower cognitive z score for combined striatal and cortical β-amyloidopathy, compared to cortical-only β-amyloidopathy and non-β-amyloidopathy subgroups.. The combined presence of striatal and cortical β-amyloidopathy is associated with greater cognitive impairment than cortical β-amyloidopathy alone in PD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Analysis of Variance; Aniline Compounds; Carbon Isotopes; Cerebral Cortex; Cognition Disorders; Corpus Striatum; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Tetrabenazine; Thiazoles

Effective therapies for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD) dementia will require accurate diagnosis and an understanding of the contribution of distinct molecular pathologies to these diseases. We seek to use imaging biomarkers to improve diagnostic accuracy and to clarify the contribution of molecular species to cognitive impairment in DLB and PD.. We have performed cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies in subjects with DLB, PD with normal cognition, PD with mild cognitive impairment and PD with dementia, contrasted with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy control subjects (HCS). Subjects underwent formal neurological examination, detailed neuropsychological assessments, MRI and PET scans with the radioligands altropane (a dopamine transporter, DAT) and Pittsburgh compound B (PiB; β-amyloid). Putamen DAT concentrations were similar in DLB and PD and differentiated them from HCS and AD. Decreased caudate DAT concentration related to functional impairment in DLB but not PD. PiB uptake was greatest in DLB. However, cortical PiB retention was common in PD and predicted cognitive decline. PET imaging of tau aggregates holds promise both to clarify the contribution of tau to cognitive decline in these diseases and to differentiate DLB and PD from the parkinsonian tauopathies.. Together, DAT and amyloid PET imaging discriminate DLB from PD and from other disease groups and identify pathological processes that contribute to their course. Multimodal PET imaging has the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy of DLB and PD in the clinic, improve cohort uniformity for clinical trials, and serve as biomarkers for targeted molecular therapies.

Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Aniline Compounds; Brain; Carbolines; Cocaine; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis, Differential; Lewy Body Disease; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Prospective Studies; Radionuclide Imaging; Radiopharmaceuticals; Survival Analysis; Thiazoles

The causes of cognitive impairment in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson disease (PD) are multifactorial. Tau pathologic changes are commonly observed at autopsy in individuals with DLB and PD dementia, but their contribution to these diseases during life is unknown.. To contrast tau aggregation in DLB, cognitively impaired persons with PD (PD-impaired), cognitively normal individuals with PD (PD-normal), and healthy persons serving as control participants, and to evaluate the association between tau aggregation, amyloid deposition, and cognitive function.. This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1, 2014, to April 28, 2016, in a tertiary care center's memory and movement disorders units. Twenty-four patients with Lewy body disease (7 DLB, 8 PD-impaired, and 9 PD-normal) underwent multimodal brain imaging, cognitive testing, and neurologic evaluation, and imaging measures were compared with those of an independently acquired group of 29 controls with minimal brain amyloid burden as measured with carbon 11-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B ([11C]PiB) positron emission tomography (PET).. Imaging with fluorine 18-labeled AV-1451 ([18F]AV-1451) (formerly known as [18F]T807), [11C]PiB PET, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neurologic examination, and detailed cognitive testing using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Clinical Dementia Rating scale.. Main outcomes were differentiation of diagnostic groups on the basis of [18F]AV-1451 binding, the association of [18F]AV-1451 binding with [11C]PiB binding, and the association of [18F]AV-1451 binding with cognitive impairment. All but 3 individuals underwent amyloid imaging with [11C]PiB PET. The hypotheses being tested were formulated before data collection. Mini-Mental State Examination (range, 0-30, with 30 being best) and Clinical Dementia Rating scale sum-of-boxes scale (range, 0-18, with 0 being best) were used for assessment of cognitive function.. In patients with DLB, cortical [18F]AV-1451 uptake was highly variable and greater than in the controls, particularly in the inferior temporal gyrus and precuneus. Foci of increased [18F]AV-1451 binding in the inferior temporal gyrus and precuneus were also evident in PD-impaired patients. Elevated cortical [18F]AV-1451 binding was observed in 4 of 17 patients with Lewy body disease with low cortical [11C]PiB retention. For DLB and PD-impaired patients, greater [18F]AV-1451 uptake in the inferior temporal gyrus and precuneus was associated with increased cognitive impairment as measured with the MMSE and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale sum-of-boxes score.. Patients with Lewy body disease manifest a spectrum of tau pathology. Cortical aggregates of tau are common in patients with DLB and in PD-impaired patients, even in those without elevated amyloid levels. When present, tau deposition is associated with cognitive impairment. These findings support a role for tau copathology in the Lewy body diseases.

Topics: Aged; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Carbolines; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neocortex; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; tau Proteins; Thiazoles

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between disruption of MRI-measured resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fcMRI) brain networks and CSF levels of potentially pathogenic proteins that reflect brain pathology in Parkinson disease (PD).. PD participants without dementia (n = 43) and age-matched controls (n = 22) had lumbar punctures to measure CSF protein levels, Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET imaging, and rs-fcMRI while off medication. Imaging analyses focused on 5 major resting-state networks as well as the striatum.. Participants with PD had significantly reduced sensorimotor functional connectivity, which correlated with reduced CSF levels of α-synuclein. The PD group also had significantly stronger default mode network functional connectivity that did not correlate with CSF β-amyloid (Aβ)42 or PiB uptake. In contrast, default mode network functional connectivity in the control group did correlate with CSF Aβ42 levels. Functional connectivity was similar between groups in the dorsal attention, control, and salience networks.. These results suggest that abnormal α-synuclein accumulation, but not Aβ, contributes to the disruption of motor-related functional connectivity in PD. Furthermore, correlating CSF protein measures with the strength of resting-state networks provides a direct link between abnormal α-synuclein metabolism and disrupted brain function in PD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; alpha-Synuclein; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Biomarkers; Brain; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Neural Pathways; Parkinson Disease; Peptide Fragments; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Rest; Severity of Illness Index; Spinal Puncture; Thiazoles

Cholinergic denervation has been associated with falls and slower gait speed and β-amyloid deposition with greater severity of axial motor impairments in Parkinson disease (PD). However, little is known about the association between the presence of extra-nigral pathological conditions and freezing of gait (FoG). Patients with PD (n = 143; age, 65.5 ± 7.4 years, Hoehn and Yahr stage, 2.4 ± 0.6; Montreal Cognitive Assessment score, 25.9 ± 2.6) underwent [(11) C]methyl-4-piperidinyl propionate acetylcholinesterase and [(11) C]dihydrotetrabenazine dopaminergic PET imaging, and clinical, including FoG, assessment in the dopaminergic "off" state. A subset of subjects (n = 61) underwent [(11) C]Pittsburgh compound-B β-amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Normative data were used to dichotomize abnormal β-amyloid uptake or cholinergic deficits. Freezing of gait was present in 20 patients (14.0%). Freezers had longer duration of disease (P = 0.009), more severe motor disease (P < 0.0001), and lower striatal dopaminergic activity (P = 0.013) compared with non-freezers. Freezing of gait was more common in patients with diminished neocortical cholinergic innervation (23.9%, χ(2)  = 5.56, P = 0.018), but not in the thalamic cholinergic denervation group (17.4%, χ(2)  = 0.26, P = 0.61). Subgroup analysis showed higher frequency of FoG with increased neocortical β-amyloid deposition (30.4%, Fisher Exact test: P = 0.032). Frequency of FoG was lowest with absence of both pathological conditions (4.8%), intermediate in subjects with single extra-nigral pathological condition (14.3%), and highest with combined neocortical cholinopathy and amyloidopathy (41.7%; Cochran-Armitage trend test, Z = 2.63, P = 0.015). Within the group of freezers, 90% had at least one of the two extra-nigral pathological conditions studied. Extra-nigral pathological conditions, in particular the combined presence of cortical cholinopathy and amyloidopathy, are common in PD with FoG and may contribute to its pathophysiology. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Topics: Acetylcholinesterase; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Benzothiazoles; Carbon Isotopes; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic; Gait Disorders, Neurologic; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Substantia Nigra; Tetrabenazine; Thiazoles; Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins

Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Aniline Compounds; Female; Humans; Male; Parkinson Disease; Principal Component Analysis; Radionuclide Imaging; Thiazoles

To use principal component analyses (PCA) of Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET imaging to determine whether the pattern of in vivo β-amyloid (Aβ) in Parkinson disease (PD) with cognitive impairment is similar to the pattern found in symptomatic Alzheimer disease (AD).. PiB PET scans were obtained from participants with PD with cognitive impairment (n = 53), participants with symptomatic AD (n = 35), and age-matched controls (n = 67). All were assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating and APOE genotype was determined in 137 participants. PCA was used to (1) determine the PiB binding pattern in AD, (2) determine a possible unique PD pattern, and (3) directly compare the PiB binding patterns in PD and AD groups.. The first 2 principal components (PC1 and PC2) significantly separated the AD and control participants (p < 0.001). Participants with PD with cognitive impairment also were significantly different from participants with symptomatic AD on both components (p < 0.001). However, there was no difference between PD and controls on either component. Even those participants with PD with elevated mean cortical binding potentials were significantly different from participants with AD on both components.. Using PCA, we demonstrated that participants with PD with cognitive impairment do not exhibit the same PiB binding pattern as participants with AD. These data suggest that Aβ deposition may play a different pathophysiologic role in the cognitive impairment of PD compared to that in AD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Principal Component Analysis; Protein Binding; Thiazoles

The aim of this study was to investigate whether amyloid deposition is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like cortical atrophy in Lewy body (LB) disease (LBD). Participants included 15 LBD with dementia patients (8 with dementia with Lewy bodies [DLB] and 7 with Parkinson's disease [PD] with dementia [PDD]), 13 AD patients, and 17 healthy controls. Age, gender, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores were matched between patient groups. All subjects underwent PET scans with [(11)C]Pittsburgh Compound B to measure brain amyloid deposition as well as three-dimensional T1-weighted MRI. Gray-matter volumes (GMVs) were estimated by voxel-based morphometry. Volumes-of-interest analyses were also performed. Forty percent of the 15 DLB/PDD patients were amyloid positive, whereas all AD patients and none of the healthy controls were amyloid positive. Amyloid-positive DLB/PDD and AD patients showed very similar patterns of cortical atrophy in the parahippocampal area and lateral temporal and parietal cortices, with 95.2% of cortical atrophy distribution being overlapped. In contrast, amyloid-negative DLB/PDD patients had no significant cortical atrophy. Compared to healthy controls, parahippocampal GMVs were reduced by 26% in both the amyloid-positive DLB/PDD and AD groups and by 10% in the amyloid-negative DLB/PDD group. The results suggest that amyloid deposition is associated with AD-like atrophy in DLB/PDD patients. Early intervention against amyloid may prevent or delay AD-like atrophy in DLB/PDD patients with amyloid deposition.

Topics: Aged; Aging; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Analysis of Variance; Aniline Compounds; Atrophy; Benzothiazoles; Dementia; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Lewy Body Disease; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Thiazoles

Although motor impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) are attributed to nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation, postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD) features are less responsive to dopaminergic medications. PIGD features are a risk factor also for the development of dementia in PD (PDD). These observations suggest that nondopaminergic mechanisms may contribute to axial motor impairments. The aim was to perform a correlative PET study to examine the relationship between neocortical β-amyloid deposition ([(11)C]-Pittsburgh Compound B), nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation ([(11)C]-dihydrotetrabenazine), and PIGD feature severity in PD patients at risk for dementia. This was a cross-sectional study of 44 PD patients (11 female and 33 male; 69.5 ± 6.6 years of age; 7.0 ± 4.8 years motor disease duration; mean H & Y stage: 2.7 ± 0.5) who underwent PET, motor feature severity assessment using the Movement Disorder Society revised UPDRS, and the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). Linear regression (R(2)(adj) = 0.147; F(4,39) = 2.85; P = 0.036) showed that increased PIGD feature severity was associated with increased neocortical [(11)C]-Pittsburgh Compound B binding (β = 0.346; t(39) = 2.13; P = 0.039) while controlling for striatal [(11)C]-dihydrotetrabenazine binding, age, and DRS total score. Increased neocortical β-amyloid deposition, even at low-range levels, is associated with higher PIGD feature severity in PD patients at risk for dementia. This finding may explain why the PIGD motor phenotype is a risk factor for the development of PDD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Carbon Isotopes; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dementia; Female; Gait Disorders, Neurologic; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Postural Balance; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Sensation Disorders; Severity of Illness Index; Tetrabenazine; Thiazoles

To determine whether amyloid burden, as indexed by Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) retention, identifies patients with Parkinson disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) compared to those with normal cognition (PD-nl). A related aim is to determine whether amyloid burden predicts cognitive decline in a cohort of subjects with PD without dementia.. In this prospective cohort study, we examined 46 subjects with PD without dementia, of whom 35 had normal cognition and 11 met criteria for PD-MCI at study baseline. All subjects underwent standardized neurologic and neuropsychological examinations and PiB PET at baseline, and clinical examinations were conducted annually for up to 5 years.. At baseline, precuneus PiB retention did not distinguish PD-MCI from PD-nl. Subjects with PD-MCI declined more rapidly than PD-nl subjects on cognitive tests of memory, executive function, and activation retrieval. Of the 35 PD-nl subjects, 8 progressed to PD-MCI and 1 to dementia; of the 11 PD-MCI subjects, 5 converted to dementia. Both higher PiB retention and a diagnosis of PD-MCI predicted a greater hazard of conversion to a more severe diagnosis. Baseline PiB retention predicted worsening in executive function over time. The APOE ε4 allele also related to worsening in executive function, as well as visuospatial function, activation retrieval, and performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination. In contrast to its relation to cognitive decline, PiB retention did not affect progression of motor impairment.. At baseline measurements, amyloid burden does not distinguish between cognitively impaired and unimpaired subjects with PD without dementia, but our data suggest that amyloid contributes to cognitive, but not motor, decline over time.

Topics: Aged; Amyloid; Aniline Compounds; Apolipoprotein E4; Biomarkers; Carbon Radioisotopes; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dementia; Disease Progression; Female; Functional Neuroimaging; Humans; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Parietal Lobe; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Prospective Studies; Thiazoles

Many patients with PD develop PD with dementia (PDD), a syndrome that overlaps clinically and pathologically with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); PDD and DLB differ chiefly in the relative timing of dementia and parkinsonism. Brain amyloid deposition is an early feature of DLB and may account, in part, for its early dementia. We sought to confirm this hypothesis and also to determine whether amyloid accumulation contributes to cognitive impairment and dementia in the broad range of parkinsonian diseases. Twenty-nine cognitively healthy PD, 14 PD subjects with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), 18 with DLB, 12 with PDD, and 85 healthy control subjects (HCS) underwent standardized neurologic and neuropsychological examinations and Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) imaging with PET. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes were obtained in many patients. PiB retention was expressed as the distribution volume ratio using a cerebellar tissue reference. PiB retention was significantly higher in DLB than in any of the other diagnostic groups. PiB retention did not differ across PDD, PD-MCI, PD, and HCS. Amyloid burden increased with age and with the presence of the ApoE ε4 allele in all patient groups. Only in the DLB group was amyloid deposition associated with impaired cognition. DLB subjects have higher amyloid burden than subjects with PDD, PD-MCI, PD, or HCS; amyloid deposits are linked to cognitive impairment only in DLB. Early amyloid deposits in DLB relative to PDD may account for their difference in the timing of dementia and parkinsonism.

Topics: Aged; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Antiparkinson Agents; Apolipoprotein E3; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction; Female; Genotype; Humans; Levodopa; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Neurologic Examination; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Thiazoles

To investigate the specificity of in vivo amyloid imaging with [(11)C]-Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB) in Parkinson disease dementia (PDD).. We performed detailed neuropathologic examination for 3 individuals with PDD who had PIB PET imaging within 15 months of death.. We observed elevated cortical uptake of [(11)C]-PIB on in vivo PET imaging in 2 of the 3 cases. At autopsy, all 3 individuals had abundant cortical Lewy bodies (Braak PD stage 6), and were classified as low-probability Alzheimer disease (AD) based on NIA-Reagan criteria. The 2 PIB-positive individuals had abundant diffuse Abeta plaques but only sparse neuritic plaques and intermediate neurofibrillary tangle pathology. The PIB-negative individual had rare diffuse plaques, no neuritic plaques, and low neurofibrillary tangle burden.. [(11)C]-Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB) PET is specific for fibrillar Abeta molecular pathology but not for pathologic diagnosis of comorbid Alzheimer disease in individuals with Parkinson disease dementia. The ability to specifically identify fibrillar Abeta amyloid in the setting of alpha-synucleinopathy makes [(11)C]-PIB PET a valuable tool for prospectively evaluating how the presence of Abeta amyloid influences the clinical course of dementia in patients with Lewy body disorders.

Topics: alpha-Synuclein; Amyloid; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Autopsy; Brain Mapping; Carbon Radioisotopes; Cerebral Cortex; Dementia; Female; Humans; Lewy Bodies; Male; Mental Status Schedule; Neurofibrillary Tangles; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Prospective Studies; Protein Binding; Severity of Illness Index; tau Proteins; Thiazoles

The objective of this study was to identify possible group differences between PD patients with dementia and without dementia by combining different functional and structural imaging methods in vivo, which might provide an opportunity to disentangle the pathophysiological correlates of cognitive impairment and dementia in PD. We performed a neuropsychological evaluation, structural brain MRI, [(18)F]FDG PET and [(11)C]PIB PET in 19 PD patients [eight non-demented (PD), eleven demented (PDD)] and 24 healthy elderly volunteers. [(11)C]PIB region-to-cerebellum ratios did not differ significantly between the groups in any brain region (p > 0.05). PDD patients showed impaired glucose metabolism in cortical brain regions and this reduction was associated with the degree of cognitive impairment. PDD patients had more atrophy both in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex compared with PD patients and controls, and hippocampal atrophy was associated with impaired memory. This cross-sectional data suggests that development of dementia in PD is associated with extensive spread of hypometabolism beyond the occipital cortex, and with hippocampal and frontal atrophy but not beta-amyloid deposition consistent with a unique biological process related to PD rather than co-incidental development of AD in persons with PD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aniline Compounds; Atrophy; Benzothiazoles; Cerebellum; Dementia; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Frontal Lobe; Glucose; Hippocampus; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Thiazoles

Clinicopathologic studies of Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) commonly reveal abnormal β-amyloid deposition in addition to diffuse Lewy bodies (α-synuclein aggregates), but the relationship among these neuropathologic features and the development of dementia in these disorders remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to determine whether amyloid-β deposition detected by PET imaging with Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB) distinguishes clinical subtypes of Lewy body-associated disorders. Nine healthy controls, 8 PD with no cognitive impairment, 9 PD with mild cognitive impairment, 6 DLB, and 15 PDD patients underwent [(11)C]-PIB positron emission tomography imaging, clinical examination, and cognitive testing. The binding potential (BP) of PIB for predefined regions and the mean cortical BP (MCBP) were calculated for each participant. Annual longitudinal follow-up and postmortem examinations were performed on a subset of participants. Regional PIB BPs and the proportion of individuals with abnormally elevated MCBP were not significantly different across participant groups. Elevated PIB binding was associated with worse global cognitive impairment in participants with Lewy body disorders but was not associated with any other clinical or neuropsychological features, including earlier onset or faster rate of progression of cognitive impairment. These results suggest that the presence of fibrillar amyloid-β does not distinguish between clinical subtypes of Lewy body-associated disorders, although larger numbers are needed to more definitively rule out this association. Amyloid-β may modify the severity of global cognitive impairment in individuals with Lewy body-associated dementia.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; alpha-Synuclein; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Brain; Cognition; Cognition Disorders; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Lewy Bodies; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Severity of Illness Index; Statistics, Nonparametric; Thiazoles

About one fourth of Lewy body disease (LBD) patients show cortical beta-amyloid load, basically a hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). Using [11C]PIB-PET, we tested whether LBD patients with beta-amyloid burden differ from those without with respect to demographic, clinical, biochemical and genetic parameters. Thirty-five LBD subjects (9 patients with Lewy body dementia, DLB; 12 demented Parkinson patients, PDD; 14 non-demented PD, PDND) underwent [11C]PIB-PET, and were classified as either PIB(+) or PIB(-) according to cortical PIB uptake. PIB+ and PIB(-) patients were then compared according to demographic, clinical, biochemical and genetic parameters. None of the PDND, but four PDD and four DLB subjects were PIB+. In PIB+ subjects, ApoE4 prevalence was higher, CSF Abeta42 levels were lower and, among demented patients, PIB-binding was associated with a lower MMSE score. Motor symptoms were not associated with PIB binding. Thus, LBD patients with cortical beta-amyloid show characteristics usually observed in AD.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Apolipoprotein E4; Brain; Carbon Radioisotopes; Female; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Likelihood Functions; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Peptide Fragments; Positron-Emission Tomography; Regression Analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Thiazoles

Extrapyramidal motor symptoms precede dementia in Parkinson disease (PDD) by many years, whereas dementia occurs early in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Despite this clinical distinction, the neuropsychological and neuropathologic features of these conditions overlap. In addition to widespread distribution of Lewy bodies, both diseases have variable burdens of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of Alzheimer disease (AD).. To determine whether amyloid deposition, as assessed by PET imaging with the beta-amyloid-binding compound Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB), can distinguish DLB from PDD, and to assess whether regional patterns of amyloid deposition correlate with specific motor or cognitive features.. Eight DLB, 7 PDD, 11 Parkinson disease (PD), 15 AD, and 37 normal control (NC) subjects underwent PiB-PET imaging and neuropsychological assessment. Amyloid burden was quantified using the PiB distribution volume ratio.. Cortical amyloid burden was higher in the DLB group than in the PDD group, comparable to the AD group. Amyloid deposition in the PDD group was low, comparable to the PD and NC groups. Relative to global cortical retention, occipital PiB retention was lower in the AD group than in the other groups. For the DLB, PDD, and PD groups, amyloid deposition in the parietal (lateral and precuneus)/posterior cingulate region was related to visuospatial impairment. Striatal PiB retention in the DLB and PDD groups was associated with less impaired motor function.. Global cortical amyloid burden is high in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but low in Parkinson disease dementia. These data suggest that beta-amyloid may contribute selectively to the cognitive impairment of DLB and may contribute to the timing of dementia relative to the motor signs of parkinsonism.

Topics: Aged; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Brain; Cognition; Dementia; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Middle Aged; Movement; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Thiazoles; Tissue Distribution

[(11)C]-PIB positron emission tomography ([(11)C]-PIB PET) is a sensitive marker of amyloid in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its specificity has not been fully evaluated. Vascular amyloid-beta deposition is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and alpha-synuclein, the major component of the Lewy bodies in PD, forms amyloid fibrils. We investigated five apparently cognitively normal PD patients with [(11)C]-PIB PET. The results were compared to 16 patients with AD and six healthy controls from a previous study. [(11)C]-PIB retention was not significantly increased in our patients who all had early stage PD. Further studies of more advanced PD patients are warranted.

Topics: Aged; Aniline Compounds; Benzothiazoles; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease; Positron-Emission Tomography; Thiazoles

[(11)C]PIB ((11)C-6-OH benzothiazole) reflects the regional distribution of amyloid (beta-sheeted proteins) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Proteinaceous inclusions in Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), so-called Lewy bodies, also consist of fibrillar, misfolded proteins, chiefly alpha-synuclein. To test whether PDD subjects show specific amyloid binding in vivo and whether this could reflect fibrillar alpha-synuclein accumulation, we investigated 10 PDD subjects with [(11)C]PIB-PET. Radioligand binding was compared to that in 11 control and 6 AD subjects. Furthermore, postmortem sections of 4 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), therefrom 2 with dementia (PDD), and of 6 controls were stained with PIB to evaluate the histological distribution of the fluorescent ligand in the brainstem. In PET, only 2 PDD patients displayed increased PIB binding to cortical amyloid comparable to AD patients. The other 8 patients showed control-like cortical findings but elevated PIB binding in the pons and mesencephalon. Fluorescence microscopy showed PIB binding to Lewy bodies and neuromelanin in the substantia nigra of PD and PDD brainstem sections, but not in controls. These data suggest that PIB-PET can be used to further differentiate PDD with respect to cortical amyloid. Furthermore, we provide evidence that--in addition to nonspecific binding--PIB uptake in the brainstem may also reflect PDD related amyloid.

Topics: Aged; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Aniline Compounds; Brain; Dementia; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Lewy Body Disease; Male; Melanins; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease; Protein Structure, Secondary; Radionuclide Imaging; Radiopharmaceuticals; Thiazoles