Radiopharmaceuticals for Assessment of Altered Metabolism and Biometal Fluxes in Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Disease with Positron Emission Tomography.

Aging is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are changes of brain metabolism and biometal fluxes due to brain aging, which may play a role in pathogenesis of AD. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a versatile tool for tracking alteration of metabolism and biometal fluxes due to brain aging and AD. Age-dependent changes in cerebral glucose metabolism can be tracked with PET using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG), a radiolabeled glucose analogue, as a radiotracer. Based on different patterns of altered cerebral glucose metabolism, 18F-FDG PET was clinically used for differential diagnosis of AD and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). There are continued efforts to develop additional radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers for assessment of age-dependent changes of various metabolic pathways and biometal fluxes due to brain aging and AD with PET. Elucidation of age-dependent changes of brain metabolism and altered biometal fluxes is not only significant for a better mechanistic understanding of brain aging and the pathophysiology of AD, but also significant for identification of new targets for the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of AD.