Florbetapir

Florbetapir is a radiopharmaceutical diagnostic agent used in adults to estimate β-amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brain via positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. It is primarily indicated for evaluating cognitive impairment and aiding in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia. Florbetapir contains the radionuclide fluorine-18, which emits positrons detectable by PET scanners. The compound binds with high affinity to beta amyloid plaques—key pathological features of Alzheimer's disease—allowing visualization of their presence and distribution within the brain. After intravenous injection, it crosses the blood-brain barrier and accumulates preferentially in areas with amyloid aggregates; these regions can then be visualized as "hot spots" on PET images[1][2][6][7]. Florbetapir has no detectable pharmacological activity at diagnostic concentrations[7].

Brand names

Amyvid

Other names

fluorine-18 florbetapirfluorine18 florbetapirfluorine 18 florbetapir18F-florbetapir