Quantitative Analysis of Brain 18F-fluordesoxyglucose and Early-Phase 18F-florbetapir Positron Emission Tomography

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) with amyloid binding tracers and 18F-fluordesoxyglucose (FDG) is used in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The dual-phase amyloid PET protocol acquires an early perfusion image immediately after the radiotracer injection that resembles FDG images. We studied the correlation of early phase 18F-florbetapir (eFBP) and FDG PET images by the quantitation of regional radiotracer uptake. Subjects with a neurodegenerative disease and eFBP and FDG PET scans were retrospectively selected. The PET images were normalized to the Montreal Neurological Institute template using Statistical Parametric Mapping version 12. Regional standardized uptake value ratios (SUVR) were extracted with the cerebellum serving as the reference region. Pearson’s correlation tests were performed to evaluate the regional correlation between eFBP and FDG PET images based on the quantitative measurements. Overall high correlation coefficients of up to r = 0.95 were observed in cortical regions that are in line with other studies or exceed previous results.