Kritikos Minos, Franceschi Ana M, Vaska Paul, Clouston Sean A P, Huang Chuan, Salerno Michael, Deri Yael, Tang Cheuk, Pellecchia Alison, Santiago-Michels Stephanie, Sano Mary, Bromet Evelyn J, Lucchini Roberto G, Gandy Sam, Luft Benjamin J
Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States.
Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Northwell Health/Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Manhasset, New York, United States.
World J Nucl Med. 2022 Sep 2;21(4):267-275. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1750013. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Incidence of early onset neurocognitive dysfunction has been reported in World Trade Center (WTC) responders. Ongoing studies are investigating the underlying etiology, as we are concerned that an underlying risk of neurodegenerative dementia may be occurring because of their stressful and neurotoxic exposures to particulate matter when they responded to the search and rescue efforts on September 11, 2001. The purpose of this study is to report preliminary results from two ongoing positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging studies investigating the presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, such as β-amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration, and compare our findings to published norms. We present findings on 12 WTC responders diagnosed with either cognitive impairment (CI) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), now at midlife, who underwent PET/MRI brain imaging as part of ongoing studies. Six responders with CI received [ F] florbetaben (FBB) to detect β-amyloidosis and six separate responders with MCI received [ F] flortaucipir (FTP) to detect tauopathy. All 12 responders underwent concomitant MRI scans for gray matter volume analysis of neurodegeneration. PET analysis revealed 50% FBB and 50% of FTP scans were clinically read as positive and that 50% of FTP scans identified as consistent with Braak's stage I or II. Furthermore, one responder identified as centiloid positive for AD. Gray matter volumes from MRI analyses were compared with age/sex-matched norms (Neuroquant), identifying abnormally low cortical volumes in the occipital and temporal lobes, as well as the inferior temporal gyri and the entorhinal cortex. These preliminary results suggest that WTC responders with neurocognitive dysfunction may be at increased risk for a neurodegenerative dementia process as a result of their exposures at September 11, 2001.
据报道，世界贸易中心（WTC）救援人员中出现了早发性神经认知功能障碍。正在进行的研究正在调查其潜在病因，因为我们担心，由于他们在2001年9月11日参与搜救工作时接触到有压力和神经毒性的颗粒物，可能会出现神经退行性痴呆的潜在风险。本研究的目的是报告两项正在进行的正电子发射断层扫描（PET）/磁共振成像（MRI）成像研究的初步结果，该研究调查了阿尔茨海默病（AD）生物标志物的存在情况，如β-淀粉样蛋白、tau蛋白和神经退行性变，并将我们的研究结果与已发表的标准进行比较。
我们展示了12名被诊断为认知障碍（CI）或轻度认知障碍（MCI）的WTC救援人员的研究结果，他们现在处于中年，作为正在进行的研究的一部分，接受了PET/MRI脑部成像检查。6名CI患者接受了[ F]氟比他班（FBB）以检测β-淀粉样变性，6名独立的MCI患者接受了[ F]氟代托品（FTP）以检测tau蛋白病。所有12名救援人员都接受了同步MRI扫描，以分析神经退行性变的灰质体积。
PET分析显示，50%的FBB扫描和50%的FTP扫描在临床上被判定为阳性，且50%的FTP扫描结果与Braak I期或II期一致。此外，一名救援人员被确定为AD的百分位数阳性。MRI分析的灰质体积与年龄/性别匹配的标准（Neuroquant）进行了比较，发现枕叶和颞叶以及颞下回和内嗅皮质的皮质体积异常低。
这些初步结果表明，患有神经认知功能障碍的WTC救援人员可能由于2001年9月11日的接触而面临神经退行性痴呆进程风险增加的情况。
