Florbetapir PET allows for noninvasive detection of brain Aβ plaques,10, 11 a hallmark pathologic feature of AD. It also serves as a quantitative endophenotype that can provide increased statistical power for discovery using GWAS compared to case-control designs.22 Although the heritability of Aβ deposition, a dynamic process captured by PET at one time point, is unknown and not a direct proxy for AD heritability, implicated markers using this approach may be more closely related to underlying processes impacting disease risk and progression.23
