Book contents
- Dispatches from the Land of Alzheimer’s
- Reviews
- Dispatches from the Land of Alzheimer’s
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Lost in Thought
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- 1 Physician Heal Thyself
- 2 Evaluating New Advances in Alzheimer’s Research
- 3 Alzheimer’s Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease
- 4 The First Patient with Alzheimer’s Disease
- 5 Kidnapped in Kinshasa
- 6 Smell, Disgust, and Alzheimer’s
- 7 Apolipoprotein-4 (APOE-4)
- 8 Lost in the Fog of Alzheimer’s
- 9 My Father’s “Stuff”
- 10 Face Blindness during a Pandemic
- 11 Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease
- 12 Olfactory Impairment in Covid-19 and Alzheimer’s
- 13 Alzheimer’s Disease and Work
- 14 Crossword Controversies
- 15 Can Loneliness Increase Risk for Dementia?
- 16 Excessive Laxative Use and Dementia
- 17 Dog Dementia (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction)
- 18 The Possible Role of Brain Inflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease May Be More Significant in APOE-4 Carriers
- 19 Surprisingly Good News about the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors (Donepezil, Rivastigmine, and Galantamine)
- 20 More about the Importance of Exercise
- 21 Rolling on the River
- 22 The MIND Diet Revisited
- 23 My Photographs, Then and Now
- 24 Does Cataract Surgery Really Decrease the Risk of Dementia?
- 25 Hearing Loss, Aphasia, and Dementia
- 26 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
- 27 The Amyloid Hypothesis Is Not Dead, but It May Be Gasping for Breath
- 28 Could Lecanemab Offer a Ray of Hope?
- 29 A Fatal Case of Multiple Brain Hemorrhages Associated with Lecanemab
- 30 Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA)
- 31 Hitting the Sweet Spot in the Spectrum of Alzheimer’s Disease for Future Trials of Anti-Amyloid Medications
- 32 Disappointing Results of Two Human Trials of Monoclonal Antibodies in Parkinson’s Disease
- 33 Repurposing Old Drugs for Alzheimer’s Treatment
- 34 Writing While Impaired
- 35 Spreading the Word
- 36 Saying Goodbye to Lizzie G
- 37 Amyloid and Tau PET Scans of My Brain
- 38 Running on a Field of Dreams
- 39 Living in the Moment with Alzheimer’s
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
37 - Amyloid and Tau PET Scans of My Brain
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2024
Book contents
- Dispatches from the Land of Alzheimer’s
- Reviews
- Dispatches from the Land of Alzheimer’s
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Lost in Thought
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- 1 Physician Heal Thyself
- 2 Evaluating New Advances in Alzheimer’s Research
- 3 Alzheimer’s Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease
- 4 The First Patient with Alzheimer’s Disease
- 5 Kidnapped in Kinshasa
- 6 Smell, Disgust, and Alzheimer’s
- 7 Apolipoprotein-4 (APOE-4)
- 8 Lost in the Fog of Alzheimer’s
- 9 My Father’s “Stuff”
- 10 Face Blindness during a Pandemic
- 11 Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease
- 12 Olfactory Impairment in Covid-19 and Alzheimer’s
- 13 Alzheimer’s Disease and Work
- 14 Crossword Controversies
- 15 Can Loneliness Increase Risk for Dementia?
- 16 Excessive Laxative Use and Dementia
- 17 Dog Dementia (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction)
- 18 The Possible Role of Brain Inflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease May Be More Significant in APOE-4 Carriers
- 19 Surprisingly Good News about the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors (Donepezil, Rivastigmine, and Galantamine)
- 20 More about the Importance of Exercise
- 21 Rolling on the River
- 22 The MIND Diet Revisited
- 23 My Photographs, Then and Now
- 24 Does Cataract Surgery Really Decrease the Risk of Dementia?
- 25 Hearing Loss, Aphasia, and Dementia
- 26 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
- 27 The Amyloid Hypothesis Is Not Dead, but It May Be Gasping for Breath
- 28 Could Lecanemab Offer a Ray of Hope?
- 29 A Fatal Case of Multiple Brain Hemorrhages Associated with Lecanemab
- 30 Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA)
- 31 Hitting the Sweet Spot in the Spectrum of Alzheimer’s Disease for Future Trials of Anti-Amyloid Medications
- 32 Disappointing Results of Two Human Trials of Monoclonal Antibodies in Parkinson’s Disease
- 33 Repurposing Old Drugs for Alzheimer’s Treatment
- 34 Writing While Impaired
- 35 Spreading the Word
- 36 Saying Goodbye to Lizzie G
- 37 Amyloid and Tau PET Scans of My Brain
- 38 Running on a Field of Dreams
- 39 Living in the Moment with Alzheimer’s
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
Summary
In 2015 and again in 2018, I traveled to San Francisco to be a volunteer in a study of a then experimental PET scan for abnormal tau protein in the brain using a radioactive ligand called [18F]-AV1451. This radioactive ligand binds with high affinity to insoluble, paired-helical filaments of hyperphosphorylated tau, the principal component of neurofibrillary tangles. Although my three-year follow up scans were delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned with Lois in September, 2022 for third set of studies spread over two days. What made this visit different, other than having to wear masks throughout the visit, was the presence of the film crew that is making a documentary film based on my first book, A Tattoo on my Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle against Alzheimer’s Disease.
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- Dispatches from the Land of Alzheimer's , pp. 149 - 154Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
Gibbs, DM, Barker, TH. A Tattoo on my Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle against Alzheimer’s Disease (second edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 93–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VandeVrede, L, Gibbs, DM, Koestler, M, et al. Symptomatic amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in an APOE ε4/ε4 patient treated with aducanumab. Alzheimers Dement 2020; 12: e12101. https:doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12101 (open access).Google Scholar