OBJECTIVE:

 

To investigate the diagnostic performance of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity measurement using N-[11 C]-methyl-4-piperidyl acetate (MP4A) and PET in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

 

METHODS:

 

Participants were 14 DLB patients, 25 AD patients and 18 age-matched healthy controls (HC). All subjects underwent PET scans and MP4A to measure regional brain AChE activity. We performed anatomical standardization of each brain image, and k3 values, an index of AChE activity, in each voxel were estimated by nonlinear least squares analysis. Volumes of interest (VOIs) were identified on parametric k3 images in frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortices, and in anterior and posterior cingulate gyri (ACG and PCG). In each VOI, the differential diagnostic performance between AD and DLB of k3 values was assessed by area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristic. Voxel-based statistical analyses were also performed.

 

(후략)