Updates of nuclear medicine imaging in neurodegenerative disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are major causes of disability in aging societies. Early and accurate diagnosis is essential but remains challenging due to overlapping clinical presentations and limited sensitivity of conventional tools. Advances in nuclear medicine imaging now enable in vivo visualization of key pathological processes, including amyloid-β and tau deposition, α-synuclein aggregation, dopaminergic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and altered cerebral metabolism. Recent progress in quantitation frameworks, multimodal integration with fluid biomarkers, and AI-assisted applications is further enhancing reproducibility and clinical translation. In this review, we summarize advances in radiotracer development, clinical applications, and standardization efforts, highlight insights from Taiwan on the integration of molecular imaging into differential diagnostic workflows for dementia and Parkinsonian syndromes, and outline remaining challenges and future directions toward precision medicine in neurodegenerative disorders.