Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2011;66 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):19-24. doi: 10.1590/s1807-59322011001300003.
'Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and its prevalence is expected to increase in the coming years. Therefore, accurate diagnosis is crucial for patients, clinicians and researchers. Neuroimaging techniques have provided invaluable information about Alzheimer's disease and, owing to recent advances, these methods will have an increasingly important role in research and clinical practice. The purpose of this article is to review recent neuroimaging studies of Alzheimer's disease that provide relevant information to clinical practice, including a new modality: in vivo amyloid imaging. Magnetic resonance imaging, single photon emission computed tomography and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography are currently available for clinical use. Patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease are commonly investigated with magnetic resonance imaging because it provides detailed images of brain structure and allows the identification of supportive features for the diagnosis. Neurofunctional techniques such as single photon emission computed tomography and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography can also be used to complement the diagnostic investigation in cases of uncertainty. Amyloid imaging is a non-invasive technique that uses positron emission tomography technology to investigate the accumulation of the β-amyloid peptide in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. This is a promising test but currently its use is restricted to very few specialized research centers in the world. Technological innovations will probably increase its availability and reliability, which are the necessary steps to achieve robust clinical applicability. Thus, in the future it is likely that amyloid imaging techniques will be used in the clinical evaluation of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
阿尔茨海默病是痴呆症最常见的病因，预计其发病率在未来几年将会增加。因此，准确的诊断对患者、临床医生和研究人员都至关重要。神经影像学技术为阿尔茨海默病提供了非常有价值的信息，由于最近的进展，这些方法将在研究和临床实践中发挥越来越重要的作用。本文旨在回顾最近的阿尔茨海默病神经影像学研究，为临床实践提供相关信息，包括一种新的模式：体内淀粉样蛋白成像。磁共振成像、单光子发射计算机断层扫描和 18F-氟脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描目前可用于临床应用。怀疑患有阿尔茨海默病的患者通常会接受磁共振成像检查，因为它可以提供大脑结构的详细图像，并可以识别支持诊断的特征。神经功能技术，如单光子发射计算机断层扫描和 18F-氟脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描，也可用于在不确定的情况下补充诊断性检查。淀粉样蛋白成像是一种非侵入性技术，它使用正电子发射断层扫描技术来研究大脑中β-淀粉样蛋白的积累，这是阿尔茨海默病的一个标志。这是一项很有前途的测试，但目前其应用仅限于世界上极少数的专门研究中心。技术创新可能会提高其可用性和可靠性，这是实现稳健临床应用的必要步骤。因此，在未来，淀粉样蛋白成像技术可能会用于阿尔茨海默病患者的临床评估。
