Quantitation of PET signal as an adjunct to visual interpretation of florbetapir imaging.

Purpose: This study examined the feasibility of using quantitation to augment interpretation of florbetapir PET amyloid imaging.

Methods: A total of 80 physician readers were trained on quantitation of florbetapir PET images and the principles for using quantitation to augment a visual read. On day 1, the readers completed a visual read of 96 scans (46 autopsy-verified and 50 from patients seeking a diagnosis).

Potential impact of amyloid imaging on diagnosis and intended management in patients with progressive cognitive decline.

Florbetapir F18 has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for in vivo assessment of amyloid pathology in patients undergoing evaluation for Alzheimer disease (AD). The aim of this study was to determine the impact of amyloid imaging on the diagnoses and management of patients undergoing evaluation for cognitive decline. Patients were recruited to participate at 19 clinical sites.

Cerebral PET with florbetapir compared with neuropathology at autopsy for detection of neuritic amyloid-β plaques: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Results of previous studies have shown associations between PET imaging of amyloid plaques and amyloid-β pathology measured at autopsy. However, these studies were small and not designed to prospectively measure sensitivity or specificity of amyloid PET imaging against a reference standard. We therefore prospectively compared the sensitivity and specificity of amyloid PET imaging with neuropathology at autopsy.

Correlation of amyloid PET ligand florbetapir F 18 binding with Aβ aggregation and neuritic plaque deposition in postmortem brain tissue.

Background: Florbetapir F 18 (F-AV-45) is a positron emission tomography imaging ligand for the detection of amyloid aggregation associated with Alzheimer disease. Earlier data showed that florbetapir F 18 binds with high affinity to β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques in human brain homogenates (Kd=3.7 nM) and has favorable imaging pharmacokinetic properties, including rapid brain penetration and washout.

Use of florbetapir-PET for imaging beta-amyloid pathology.

Context: The ability to identify and quantify brain β-amyloid could increase the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.

Objective: To determine if florbetapir F 18 positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging performed during life accurately predicts the presence of β-amyloid in the brain at autopsy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective clinical evaluation conducted February 2009 through March 2010 of florbetapir-PET imaging performed on 35 patients from hospice, long-term care, and community health care facilities near the end of their lives (6 patients to establish the protocol and 29 to validate) compared with immunohistochemistry and silver stain measures of brain β-amyloid after their death used as the reference standard.

Covering sleeves can shield the high-voltage coils from lead chatter in an integrated bipolar ICD lead.

Aims: Integrated bipolar implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads use the distal high-voltage coil as both the ventricular sensing anode and the distal shocking electrode. Mechanical interactions between the distal ICD coil and other intracardiac leads have been reported to result in electrical oversensing and inappropriate ICD therapies. We sought to determine whether covering sleeves over the high-voltage coils of an integrated bipolar ICD lead could prevent sensed artefact from mechanical lead interactions.