Fast Five Quiz: Alzheimer's Disease Workup

Jasvinder P. Chawla, MD, MBA; Shaheen E. Lakhan, MD, PhD, MS, MEd

September 08, 2023

The Amyloid Imaging Taskforce, a group of experts from the Alzheimer's Association and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, developed guidelines for the use of amyloid-beta PET imaging to distinguish Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia. These guidelines outline three scenarios in which determining amyloid positivity or negativity could enhance diagnostic certainty and alter clinical decision-making.

According to guidelines, amyloid imaging is most appropriate for:

Patients with persistent or progressive unexplained mild cognitive impairment
Patients satisfying core clinical criteria for possible Alzheimer's disease because of unclear clinical presentation
Patients with progressive dementia and atypically early age of onset

There are also several scenarios in which imaging is not recommended. It should not be used in asymptomatic individuals or patients with a clear Alzheimer's disease diagnosis at the typical age of onset, nor should it be used in place of genotyping for suspected autosomal mutation carriers. Finally, scanning cannot be used to determine dementia stage or assess its severity.

Learn more about SPECT and PET in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Jasvinder P. Chawla, Shaheen E. Lakhan. Fast Five Quiz: Alzheimer's Disease Workup - Medscape - Sep 08, 2023.

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