Relation of Beta-amyloid Deposition to Temporal Lobe-focused Dementias

描述(由申请人提供)：如果一种痴呆症有治疗方法，而另一种痴呆症没有治疗方法，患者和照顾者渴望得到诊断的确定性，因为获得明确的答案可以改变他们的生活长度和质量。然而，当70岁以上的患者出现额颞部痴呆的症状-个性变化和行为障碍-以及与阿尔茨海默病相关的早期记忆丧失时，诊断可能仍然难以得到，这使得医生、患者和家人不确定适当的行动方案。临床医生-多伦多大学的科学家们想要改变这一点。阿尔茨海默病(AD)的疾病改良剂很可能比额颞部痴呆(FTD)的患者更早上市。β-淀粉样蛋白放射性示踪剂是一种神经成像技术，可以检测大脑中异常淀粉样蛋白集合的存在，从而增强诊断保证，是本十年最有希望的发展之一。这项研究将使用大脑的淀粉样PET成像来确定晚发性FTD是否存在AD病理。它还将帮助临床医生了解未来的抗淀粉样蛋白干预是否在额颞部痴呆的治疗中发挥作用。拟议的分析利用了来自罗特曼研究所的研究人员之间的合作优势，他们在FTD的临床研究方面有经过证明的跟踪记录，以及成瘾和精神健康中心的老年精神健康计划和PET成像中心。如果收到资金，CAMH将对一半的受试者样本进行扫描，从而增加赠款的价值并完成拟议的方案。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): If treatment is available for one dementia and not another, patients and caregivers yearn for diagnostic certainty, because obtaining definitive answers can alter the length and quality of their lives. However, when patients over age 70 present with symptoms of frontotemporal dementia - personality change and behavioral disturbance - along with the early memory loss associated with Alzheimer's Disease, diagnosis can remain elusive, leaving doctors, patients and families uncertain of the appropriate course of action. Clinician-Scientists at the University of Toronto want to change this. Disease-modifying agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD) will likely be available sooner than for those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The beta-amyloid radiotracer - a neuroimaging technique that detects the presence of abnormal amyloid collections in the brain and therefore enhances diagnostic assurance - is one of the most promising developments of this decade. This study would use amyloid PET imaging of the brain to determine if cases of late-onset FTD bear AD pathology. It also will help clinicians understand if there is a role for future anti-amyloid interventions in the treatment of frontotemporal dementias. The proposed analysis draws on the strength of collaboration among investigators from the Rotman Research Institute, who have a proven track record in clinical research on FTD, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Geriatric Mental Health Program and PET Imaging Centre. If funding is received, CAMH will provide scanning for half of the sample of subjects, thus increasing the value of the grant and completing the proposed protocol.