In Vivo Visualization of Amyloid Deposits in the Heart with 11C-PIB and PET

Cardiac amyloidosis is a differential diagnosis in heart failure and is associated with high mortality. There is currently no noninvasive imaging test available for specific diagnosis. N-[methyl-C-11]2-(4'-methylamino-phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole (C-11-PIB) PET is used in the evaluation of brain amyloidosis. We evaluated the potential use of C-11-PIB PET in systemic amyloidosis affecting the heart. Methods: Patients (n = 10) diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis-including heart involvement of either monoclonal immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) or transthyretin (ATTR) type- and healthy volunteers (n = 5) were investigated with PET/CT using C-11-PIB to study cardiac amyloid deposits and with C-11-acetate to measure myocardial blood flow to study the impact of global and regional perfusion on PIB retention. Results: Myocardial C-11-PIB uptake was visually evident in all patients 15-25 min after injection and was not seen in any volunteer. A significant difference in C-11-PIB retention in the heart between patients and healthy controls was found. The data indicate that myocardial amyloid deposits in patients diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis could be visualized with C-11-PIB. No correlation between C-11-PIB retention index and myocardial blood flow as measured with C-11-acetate was found on the global level, whereas a positive correlation on the segmental level was seen in a single patient. Conclusion: C-11-PIB and PET could be a method to study systemic amyloidosis of type AL and ATTR affecting the heart and should be investigated further both as a diagnostic tool and as a noninvasive method for treatment follow-up.