Imaging of Brain Amyloid Plaques in the Aging Population

Brain Amyloid Imaging With Pittsburgh Compound B in Normal Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia

This is a prospective, open label, non-therapeutic, diagnostic imaging study. The purpose of this study is to utilize Pittsburgh Compound B positron emission imaging (PiB PET) to ascertain the relationship between change in amyloid burden over time, and concurrent change in clinical status.

Identification of risk factors and biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease is essential in caring for the growing numbers of elderly. Imaging biomarkers provide non-invasive ways to look at brain function. A new PET imaging agent, Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB), that identifies brain amyloid is an exciting development in brain imaging that needs to be studied. We plan to study this imaging technique in normal volunteers and patients with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases to determine its utility. Long term followup of these subjects will allow us to understand the predictive ability of this new test.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 30-100
• Subjects who have completed or are scheduled to undergo the neurological evaluation procedures in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Mayo ADRC, or Mayo neurodegenerative disease clinics.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects unable to lie down without moving for 10 minutes
• Women who are pregnant or cannot stop breast feeding for 24 hours at the time of scanning
• Claustrophobic patients unable to tolerate the scans
• Standard safety exclusionary criteria for MRI such as metallic foreign bodies, pacemaker, etc.