RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Spatiotemporal Distribution of β-Amyloid in Alzheimer Disease Is the Result of Heterogeneous Regional Carrying Capacities
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 822
OP 827
DO 10.2967/jnumed.117.194720
VO 59
IS 5
A1 Alex Whittington
A1 David J. Sharp
A1 Roger N. Gunn
A1 ,
YR 2018
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/59/5/822.abstract
AB β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in the brain is 1 of 2 pathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD), and the spatial distribution of Aβ has been studied extensively ex vivo. Methods: We applied mathematical modeling to Aβ in vivo PET imaging data to investigate competing theories of Aβ spread in AD. Results: Our results provided evidence that Aβ accumulation starts in all brain regions simultaneously and that its spatiotemporal distribution is due to heterogeneous regional carrying capacities (regional maximum possible concentration of Aβ) for the aggregated protein rather than to longer-term spreading from seed regions. Conclusion: The in vivo spatiotemporal distribution of Aβ in AD can be mathematically modeled using a logistic growth model in which the Aβ carrying capacity is heterogeneous across the brain but the exponential growth rate and time of half maximal Aβ concentration are constant.