What is New in Nuclear Medicine Imaging for Dementia

Advances in the molecular biology, pathology and genetics of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other degenerative dementias have led to the development of biomarkers specific to these diseases and radiotracers that are used in nuclear medicine. Imaging and non-imaging markers have enabled very early recognition of these diseases and have caused significant changes in their definitions. Amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) and tau PET, which are molecular imaging methods, [F18]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET showing the glucose metabolism pattern in the brain, dopamine transporter single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) that marks dopaminergic terminals are valuable tools for early recognition and differentiation of AD and its atypical variants, frontotemporal dementias and dementia with Lewy bodies. These imaging methods, which have different advantages over each other, have different indications for use and sometimes provide complementary information. In addition, research on radiotracers targeting neuroinflammation, astrocytes, synaptic density, and cholinergic terminals is ongoing. In this review, routinely used and newly developed nuclear imaging methods in AD and other neurodegenerative dementias, the agents used and their diagnostic features will be presented together with case examples.