Imaging amyloid in Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies with positron emission tomography.

Although Parkinson's disease with later dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are pathologically characterized by the presence of intraneuronal Lewy inclusion bodies, amyloid deposition is also associated to varying degrees with both these disorders. Fibrillar amyloid load can now be quantitated in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET) using imaging biomarkers. Here the reported findings of 11C-PIB PET studies concerning the amyloid load associated with PD and its influence on dementia are reviewed. It is concluded that the presence of amyloid acts to accelerate the dementia process in Lewy body disorders, though has little influence on its nature. Anti-amyloid strategies could be a relevant approach for slowing dementia in a number of DLB and PDD cases. Copyright 2009 Movement Disorder Society