Predominant subcortical accumulation of ¹⁸F-flortaucipir binding in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is the most common form of frontotemporal dementia, and tau pathology can be found in 40%–50% of bvFTD patients. In this study, we sought to investigate ¹⁸F-flortaucipir-binding patterns and their correlates in clinically diagnosed bvFTD patients by comparing with results for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. We enrolled 20 bvFTD, 20 AD, and 20 age-matched healthy subjects who underwent neuropsychological tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and tau positron emission tomography scans with ¹⁸F-flortaucipir. Regional standardized uptake value ratios for the cerebral cortex and underlying white matter were compared between the 2 groups. The bvFTD patients showed increased ¹⁸F-flortaucipir binding in the putamen and globus pallidus when compared to the healthy controls. In addition, bvFTD was associated with increased binding in the white matter regions underlying the frontal, anterior cingulate, and insula cortices. The bvFTD patients may exhibit predominantly subcortical ¹⁸F-flortaucipir-binding pattern that is distinct from the patterns seen in AD patients. We hypothesize that the clinical characteristics of bvFTD patients may be attributable to the dysfunctional frontal-subcortical networks. However, concerns remain regarding unknown “off-target” binding in the white matter and the basal ganglia.