RADIOISOTOPES

The recent development of selective in vivo tau PET imaging ligands including [¹¹C]PBB3, [¹⁸F]THK5351 and [¹⁸F]T807 (AV1451) has allowed exploration of the presence and extent of tau pathology in patients suspected of having tauopathies. In Alzheimer’s disease, [¹¹C]PBB3-PET data were closely consistent with the spreading of tau pathology with disease progression described as Braak staging. In non-Alzheimer’s disease tauopathies, such as progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome, tau PET imaging has made it possible to detect the deposition of aggregated tau in specific lesions. Selective tau imaging might be useful as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, and a surrogate marker for the evaluating of therapeutic efficacy and patient recruitment for trials of anti-tau disease modifying therapy.