Is Amyloid Burden Measured by F-18-Flutemetamol PET Associated with Progression in Clinical Alzheimer's Disease?

Background: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show heterogeneity in clinical progression rate, and we have limited tools to predict prognosis. Amyloid burden from F-18-Flutemetamol positron emission tomography (PET), as measured by standardized uptake value ratios (SUVR), might provide prognostic information. Objective: We investigate whether F-18-Flutemetamol PET composite or regional SUVRs are associated with trajectories of clinical progression. Methods: This observational longitudinal study included 94 patients with clinical AD. PET images were semi-quantified with normalization to pons. Group-based trajectory modeling was applied to identify trajectory groups according to change in the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) over time. Multinomial logistic regression models assessed the association of SUVRs with trajectory group membership. Results: Three trajectory groups were identified. In the regression models, neither composite nor regional SUVRs were associated with trajectory group membership. Conclusion: There were no associations between CDR progression and F-18-Flutemetamol PET-derived composite SUVRs or regional SUVRs in clinical AD.