BACKGROUND:

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is difficult to diagnose accurately. The recently developed tau PET tracers may improve the diagnostic work-up of PSP.

METHODS:

Regional tau accumulation was studied using ¹⁸ F-AV-1451 PET in 11 patients with PSP and 11 age-matched healthy controls in the Swedish BioFinder study.

RESULTS:

¹⁸ F-AV-1451 standard uptake volume ratios were significantly higher in the basal ganglia in PSP patients when compared with controls (globus pallidus 1.75 vs 1.50; putamen 1.51 vs 1.35). Retention in the basal ganglia was correlated with age in both groups (r = .43-.78, P < .05). In PSP, we observed a significant correlation between clinical deterioration measured with the PSP rating scale and standard uptake volume ratios in the globus pallidus (r = .74, P < .05). However, no ¹⁸ F-AV-1451 retention was observed in the cerebral cortex or white matter of either PSP patients or controls, and autoradiography did not reveal any specific binding of AV-1451 to PSP tau aggregates.

CONCLUSION:

We found higher ¹⁸ F-AV-1451 retention in the basal ganglia of PSP patients when compared with healthy elderly controls, but also increases with age in both controls and patients. As a result of the overlap in retention between diagnostic groups and the age-dependent increase present also in controls, ¹⁸ F-AV-1451 PET might not reliably distinguish individual patients with PSP from controls. However, further studies are needed to evaluate whether ¹⁸ F-AV-1451 PET might be useful as a progression marker in clinical PSP trials. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

© 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.