Flortaucipir F 18 for Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease: A Review

Author(s): Talha Naser Jilani, Aimen Khurshid, Abdullah Khalid, Izhan Ali Khan, Rahul Roy, Muhammad Umer Ahmed, Noor Rafid Najim, Danish Kherani

Alzheimer's disease (AD) development begins years before clinical diagnostic confirmation. Approaches to advance detection can provide chances for prompt intervention, symptomatic treatment, and better patient functionality. AD is generally diagnosed based on clinical features with evident CT scan findings. CT brain shows cerebral atrophy and the ventricles that contain cerebrospinal fluid are noticeably enlarged. These findings are suggestive but nonspecific because these abnormalities are also present in other illnesses and people with normal age-related changes. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis for low beta-amyloid 42 and elevated tau together with mental status and neuropsychological testing is helpful in the diagnosis of the preclinical stage. The advancement of flortaucipir positron emission tomography (PET) scans in detecting tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles in the brain helps in early diagnosis and differentiation of tau containing neuropathological diseases. Furthermore, it can differentiate tau pathologies in non-AD patients. This review highlights the uses of flortaucipir F 18 in AD patients and the mechanism of this PET tracer evaluating its safety profile.