Objective: To validate [¹⁸F]Fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol ([¹⁸F]FEOBV) imaging in healthy volunteers by dynamic scanning. The secondary objective of this study was to evaluate the differences in [¹⁸F]FEOBV binding between PD patients and healthy control subjects, in order to evaluate the clinical feasibility of [¹⁸F]FEOBV as a cholinergic imaging ligand in PD.

Background: Cholinergic neuronal degeneration is an important contributor to several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the rate and extent of this cholinergic neuronal degeneration in the course of PD is unknown. Previous PET studies on the cholinergic system in PD used indirect PET markers, showing pre- as well as post-synaptic binding. However, to get a better understanding of cholinergic depletion, a more selective, presynaptic marker is needed. Preclinical studies showed promising data on the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) tracer [¹⁸F]FEOBV, in detecting cholinergic deficits in vivo. The use of [¹⁸F]FEOBV as a PET imaging marker of cholinergic innervation has been studied only preclinically and in healthy human volunteers.

Methods: The study population comprised 20 subjects in total, of which 10 healthy control subjects and 10 PD patients. Three healthy control subjects underwent dynamic scanning in 3 imaging sessions at 0-120, 150-180, 210-240 min after injection of [¹⁸F]FEOBV. The addition 7 healthy controls and 10 PD patients underwent a short static [¹⁸F]FEOBV scan.

Results: The dynamic scans showed a [¹⁸F]FEOBV  distribution which was comparable to previous findings, showing the highest binding in striatum and thalamus, and a lower binding to the cortex. The most optimal late static scanning period derived from these data was thought to be best at 210 minutes after injection and 30 minutes in duration. [¹⁸F]FEOBV binding data of PD patients and controls will be shown.

Conclusions: [¹⁸F]FEOBV shows a high binding to striatum and thalamus and lower binding to the cortex. The dynamic scan data suggest that static scans of 30 minutes should be sufficient to generate adequate cholinergic binding data, which makes [¹⁸F]FEOBV very feasible as a cholinergic marker, also supported by the binding data of PD patients and controls.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/assessing-cholinergic-innervation-in-parkinsons-disease-using-the-pet-imaging-marker-18ffluoroethoxybenzovesamicol/