Emerging evidence supports a hypothesized role for the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease. ¹⁸F-ASEM (3-(1,4-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonan-4-yl)-6-¹⁸F-fluorodibenzo[b,d]thiophene 5,5-dioxide) is a radioligand for estimating the availability of α7-nAChR in the brain in vivo with PET. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 14 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage to dementia, and 17 cognitively intact, elderly controls completed ¹⁸F-ASEM PET. For each participant, binding in each region of interest was estimated using Logan graphical analysis with a metabolite-corrected arterial input function. Results: Higher ¹⁸F-ASEM binding was observed in MCI patients than in controls across all regions, supporting higher availability of α7-nAChR in MCI. ¹⁸F-ASEM binding was not associated with verbal memory in this small MCI sample. Conclusion: These data support use of ¹⁸F-ASEM PET to examine further the relationship between α7-nAChR availability and MCI.

越来越多的证据支持α7烟碱乙酰胆碱受体（α7-nAChR）在阿尔茨海默氏病的病理生理学中的假设作用。¹⁸ F-ASEM（3-（1,4-二氮杂双环[3.2.2]壬-4-基）-6- ¹⁸ F-氟二苯并[b，d]噻吩-5,5-二氧化物）是用于估计可用性的放射性配体PET体内大脑中α7-nAChR的表达。方法：在这项横断面研究中，有14名轻度认知障碍（MCI），痴呆症的前驱期患者和17名认知完好的老年对照组完成了¹⁸ F-ASEM PET。对于每个参与者，使用具有代谢物校正的动脉输入功能的Logan图形分析来估计每个感兴趣区域中的结合。结果：高¹⁸在所有地区，MCI患者中均观察到F-ASEM结合，而在对照组中，这表明α7-nAChR在MCI中的利用率更高。在这个小的MCI样品中，¹⁸ F-ASEM的结合与言语记忆无关。结论：这些数据支持使用¹⁸ F-ASEM PET进一步检查α7-nAChR可用性与MCI之间的关系。