Pittsburgh compound-B and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in CSF, plasma and urine: An exploratory study

Abstract

Background: The positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer Pittsburgh Compound-B (PIB) is an in vivo ligand for measuring beta-amyloid (Abeta) load. Associations between PET PIB and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Abeta1-42 and apolipoprotein E epsilon4 (APOE epsilon4) have been observed in several studies, but the relations between PIB uptake and other biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are less investigated.

Method: PET PIB, PET 18Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose and different AD biomarkers were measured twice in CSF, plasma and urine 12 months apart in 10 patients with a clinical diagnosis of mild to moderate AD.

Results: PIB retention was constant over 1 year, inversely related to low CSF Abeta1-42 (p = 0.01) and correlated positively to the numbers of the APOE epsilon4 allele (0, 1 or 2) (p = 0.02). There was a relation between mean PIB retention and CSF ApoE protein (r = -0.59, p = 0.07), and plasma cystatin C (r = -0.56, p = 0.09).

Conclusion: PIB retention is strongly related to CSF Abeta1-42, and to the numbers of the APOE epsilon4 allele.