RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Spatial patterns of amyloid deposition in Alzheimer’s disease patients JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 1638 OP 1638 VO 59 IS supplement 1 A1 QIAN CHEN A1 Xiaobin Zhao A1 Zhen Qiao A1 Kai Wang A1 Xiaotong Li A1 XIn Wang A1 Yaojing Chen A1 Zhanjun Zhang A1 Lin Ai YR 2018 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/59/supplement_1/1638.abstract AB 1638Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to examine the spatial distribution and extent of Aβ deposits by using 18 F-florbetapir ([18F] AV-45) PET and attempted to identify hierarchical structure of amyloid burden organization that should contain meaningful information about regional covariance patterns in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Methods: Sixty-eight patients (28 male and 40 female; mean age 65.29 years; range 50-85 years) with probable AD were enrolled and underwent an 18F-florbetapir PET examination. All cortical regions from the LPBA40 template were analyzed. Standard uptake values (SUV) and cortical to the whole cerebellum SUV ratios (SUVRs) were calculated in each of the regions. Results: We found that the distribution of regional florbetapir SUVR in AD patients exhibited highest amyloid load in regions such as the cingulate gyrus (1.58±0.31), precuneus (1.53±0.24), lingual gyrus (1.44±0.18), followed by frontal and parietal areas, and then occipital and temporal regions. In the further hierarchical clustering of AD patients (distance=2.2), it tended to cluster according to the stages of amyloid deposition and tau pathology. The brain regions in the first cluster was closely linked with the amyloid deposition and tau pathology at the early stage, with areas of major changes being the fusiform, hippocampus, parahippocampal, rectus, lateral orbitofrontal, inferior temporal, and inferior occipital areas. The second cluster had almost closed spatial distribution with the amyloid deposition and tau pathology at the mid-stage, including cingulate gyrus, insular, lingual gyrus, and precuneus. The third cluster contained the majority of cortical areas, which correspond with amyloid deposition and tau pathology at late stage. Conclusion: These findings suggest that specificity of spatial patterns may be the key pathological basis of AD.