Title:New Tracers and New Perspectives for Molecular Imaging in Lewy Body Diseases
Volume: 25
Issue: 26
Author(s): Matteo Bauckneht, Dario Arnaldi, Flavio Nobili, Dag Aarsland and Silvia Morbelli*
Affiliation:
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Health Sciences, Policlinic San Martino Hospital, 16132 Genoa,Italy
Keywords:
Parkinson disease, lewy bodies dementia, Parkinson disease dementia, molecular imaging, positron
emission tomography, single photon emission tomography.
Abstract: The term Lewy body diseases (LBDs) refers to a subset of neurodegenerative
disorders that share the accumulation of the so-called Lewy bodies (LB) including: Parkinson’s
disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and PD later characterized by
the occurrence of dementia (PDD). Moreover, multiple system atrophy (MSA) and idiopatic
Rem Sleeping behaviour disorders (RBD) complete the group of synucleinopathies
and have also common symptoms with respect to LBDs. The clinical diagnosis of LBDs
can be challenging for physicians, particularly in the early stages of disease. Given the
growing number of individuals affected by these neurodegenerative disorders, early and
accurate diagnosis can lead to improved clinical management of patients. For this reason,
information obtained from molecular imaging biomarkers is playing an increasingly important
role in this framework. The present narrative review discusses both established
milestones and new evidence on the use of molecular imaging tracers already part of the
clinical practice as well as available evidence on new molecular imaging approaches in
PD, PDD and DLB.
