Alzheimer's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alzheimer's Disease, including details on diagnosis, memory loss, heredity, treatment, medication.

Imaging of central nAChReceptors with 2-[18F]F-A85380: optimized synthesis and in vitro evaluation in Alzheimer's disease.

Schmaljohann J, Minnerop M, Karwath P, Gündisch D, Falkai P, Guhlke S, Wüllner U

Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany. joern.schmaljohann@ukb.uni-bonn.de

In vivo labeling of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) could be a useful tool for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders. 2-[18F]F-A85380 (2-[18F]Fluoro-3-[2(S)-2-azetidinylmethoxy]pyridine), a ligand with high affinity to the beta2 subunit of the nAChRs, has been shown to label neurons in the nAChR-rich thalamus, cortex and striatum in baboons. We report an optimized synthesis resulting in an uncorrected yield of 58% in 45 min (precursor 2), enabling efficient production intended for clinical use. Incubation of normal rat brain sections with 2-[18F]F-A85380 with subsequent autoradiographic analyses showed the expected distribution in nAChR areas. In human brain sections of Alzheimer's disease (AD) a decrease of 2-[18F]F-A85380 uptake to 36% of the control group was measured in the thalamus and also in the occipital cortex. These findings suggest that 2-[18F]F-A85380 is a promising PET-ligand in the diagnosis of AD.

Published 24 September 2004 in Appl Radiat Isot, 61(6): 1235-40.
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