¹⁸F-FDG PET for Neurodegenerative Diseases: Principles and Progress

Abstract

The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases has been increasing in aging society. Recent developments in several biomarkers help understand the underlying principles of neurodegenerative diseases and accelerate remarkable progress in clinical practice and research. Here, we describe a prospective study on the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) of the brain as a predictive marker for response to treatment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and compare results with other imaging markers, including amyloid PET, MRI, and the integrated imaging marker using amyloid PET, FDG PET, and MRI. We aim to provide the readers with guidelines on applying both qualitative and semiquantitative and integrating FDG PET data with other imaging markers. The research challenges and possible measures to overcome those challenges are also discussed.