Usefulness of PET With [F]LBT-999 for the Evaluation of Presynaptic Dopaminergic Neuronal Loss in a Clinical Environment.

The density of the neuronal dopamine transporter (DAT) is directly correlated with the presynaptic dopaminergic system injury. In a first study, we evaluated the brain distribution and kinetics of [F]LBT-999, a DAT PET radioligand, in a group of eight healthy subjects. Taking into account the results obtained in healthy volunteers, we wanted to evaluate whether the loss of presynaptic striatal dopaminergic fibers could be estimated, under routine clinical conditions, using [F]LBT-999 and a short PET acquisition.

Isolated parkinsonism is an atypical presentation of GRN and C9orf72 gene mutations.

Introduction: A phenotype of isolated parkinsonism mimicking Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (IPD) is a rare clinical presentation of GRN and C9orf72 mutations, the major genetic causes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). It still remains controversial if this association is fortuitous or not, and which clinical clues could reliably suggest a genetic FTD etiology in IPD patients. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of FTD mutation carriers presenting with IPD phenotype, provide neuropathological evidence of the mutation's causality, and specifically address their "red flags" according to current IPD criteria.

Self-assembled mPEG-hexPLA polymeric nanocarriers for the targeted cutaneous delivery of imiquimod.

mPEG-hexPLA micelles have shown their ability to improve delivery and cutaneous bioavailability of a wide range of poorly water soluble and lipophilic molecules. Although poorly water soluble, imiquimod (IMQ) is only moderately lipophilic and it was decided to investigate whether mPEG-hexPLA polymeric micelles could be used as a drug delivery system for this "less than ideal" candidate for encapsulation. Nanosized IMQ micelles (d = 27 nm) were formulated and characterized.

Amyloid PET Positivity in Different Primary Progressive Aphasia Phenotypes.

Purpose: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurological syndrome in which language functions become progressively impaired with relative sparing of memory and other instrumental functions. The pathologic causes of PPA are heterogeneous, but studies suggest that logopenic PPA (LPA) is underpinned by Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology in a high proportion of cases. The purposes of this descriptive and retrospective study were to characterize F-florbetapir PET imaging in a group of patients with a clinical syndrome of PPA, to determine the value of clinical characterization based on language phenotype in predicting the underlying pathology of PPA with F-florbetapir, and to quantify amyloid load in PPA subjects classified as "positive" F-florbetapir scans.

Hedonic Assessment of Odors: A Comparison of Two Sensory Scales for Use with Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Elderly Individuals.

Background: Several clinical studies concerning the olfactory function of patients with cognitive impairment have used sensory scales to investigate hedonic perception. However, no study has focused on the choice of the most appropriate sensory hedonic scale for the individuals with neurodegenerative disorders or other psychiatric diseases involving cognitive deficits.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) to use two hedonic scales (category scale and linear scale) and compare their discriminatory capacity, repeatability, and ease of use.