Publications by authors named "Yanghong Yang"

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative illness affecting nearly 7 million people in the United States. Until 2023, no disease-targeting pharmacotherapeutics were widely available outside of research studies. With relatively recent regulatory approval and increasing availability of antiamyloid therapies (AATs) in the United States, management of AD is rapidly shifting from symptomatic and supportive care alone to treatments aimed at disease modification.

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The availability of monoclonal antibodies directed against amyloid beta, for use as disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD), represented a major shift in the field of AD research and treatment. U.S.

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Here we present the case of a 56-year-old right-handed White male who developed osteomyelitis and empyema after repetitive compulsive excoriation rituals. His recent history included profound personality changes, apathy, loss of empathy, limited insight, behavioral agitation, and episodic memory loss. In addition to these progressive behavioral deficits, he had significant difficulties with executive functioning, leading to the loss of his job and inability to independently perform instrumental activities of daily living.

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[F]FE-PE2I PET is a promising alternative to single positron emission computed tomography-based dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging in Parkinson's disease. While the excellent discriminative power of [F]FE-PE2I PET has been established, so far only one study has reported meaningful associations between motor severity scores and DAT availability. In this study, we use high-resolution (∼3 mm isotropic) PET to provide an independent validation for the clinical correlates of [F]FE-PE2I imaging in separate cross-sectional (28 participants with Parkinson's disease, Hoehn-Yahr: 2 and 14 healthy individuals) and longitudinal (initial results from 6 participants with Parkinson's disease with 2-year follow-up) cohorts.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates synaptic density in autistic adults using positron emission tomography (PET) and synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) as a marker.
  • Results show that autistic individuals exhibit a 17% lower synaptic density across the whole cortex compared to non-autistic peers, with significant deficits in various brain regions, especially the prefrontal cortex.
  • The findings suggest that lower synaptic density is associated with increased autistic features, pointing to a potential molecular basis for autism that requires further exploration.
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Background And Purpose: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a clinically and pathologically heterogeneous neurodegenerative condition with a prevalence comparable to Alzheimer's disease for patients under 65 years of age. Limited studies have examined the association between cognition and neuroimaging in FTD using different imaging modalities.

Methods: We examined the association of cognition using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) with both gray matter (GM) volume and glucose metabolism using magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET in 21 patients diagnosed with FTD.

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Introduction: The neuroimmune system performs a wide range of functions in the brain and the central nervous system. The microglial translocator protein (TSPO) has an established role as a cell marker in identification of the neuroimmune system. Previously, human studies have shown TSPO differences in neuropsychiatric disorders.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease, but at present there is no cure, nor any disease-modifying treatments. Synaptic biomarkers from in vivo imaging have shown promise in imaging loss of synapses in PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we provide new clinical insights from a cross-sectional, high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) study of 30 PD individuals and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) with the radiotracer [C]UCB-J, which binds to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), and is therefore, a biomarker of synaptic density in the living brain.

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Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a clinically and pathologically heterogeneous condition with a prevalence comparable to Alzheimer's Disease for patients under sixty-five years of age. Gray matter (GM) atrophy and glucose hypometabolism are important biomarkers for the diagnosis and evaluation of disease progression in FTD. However, limited studies have systematically examined the association between cognition and neuroimaging in FTD using different imaging modalities in the same patient group.

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Objective: Despite being one of the most prevalent neurological diseases, the pathophysiology of essential tremor (ET) is not fully understood. Neuropathological studies have identified numerous degenerative changes in the cerebellum of ET patients, however. These data align with considerable clinical and neurophysiological data linking ET to the cerebellum.

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Despite being one of the most prevalent neurological diseases, the pathophysiology of essential tremor (ET) is not fully understood. Neuropathological studies have identified numerous degenerative changes in the cerebellum of ET patients, however. These data align with considerable clinical and neurophysiological data linking ET to the cerebellum.

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This chapter encapsulates a short introduction to positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and the information gained by using this technology to detect changes of the dopamine 3 receptor (D3R) at the molecular level in vivo. We will discuss available D3R radiotracers, emphasizing [11C]PHNO. The focus, however, will be on PET findings in conditions including substance abuse, obesity, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and aging.

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PET technology has produced many radiopharmaceuticals that target specific brain proteins and other measures of brain function. Recently, a new approach has emerged to image synaptic density by targeting the synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), an integral glycoprotein in the membrane of synaptic vesicles and widely distributed throughout the brain. Multiple SV2A ligands have been developed and translated to human use.

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