Image of the Year 2001

Image of the Year. A PET scan using [18 F]FDDNP was able to identify areas of the brain where high densities of the ß-amyloid senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of Alzheimer's disease were already present at the onset of symptoms of dementia. The image was acquired by Dr. Jorge Barrio at the UCLA School of Medicine and his team, and announced by Dr. Henry Wagner at the SNM's 48th Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Technical description: An in vivo PET scan of an AD patient with [18 F]FDDNP demonstrated longer retention times of [18 F]FDDNP in the target areas (e.g. hippocampal region) where high densities of ß-amyloid senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are already present at the onset of symptoms of dementia.

[18 F]FDDNP stands for: 1-(1-{6-[(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl}ethylidene)malononitrile