RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 In Vivo Measurement of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Type 2 Density in Parkinson Disease with 18F-AV-133 JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 223 OP 228 DO 10.2967/jnumed.109.070094 VO 51 IS 2 A1 Nobuyuki Okamura A1 Victor L. Villemagne A1 John Drago A1 Svetlana Pejoska A1 Rajinder K. Dhamija A1 Rachel S. Mulligan A1 Julia R. Ellis A1 Uwe Ackermann A1 Graeme O'Keefe A1 Gareth Jones A1 Hank F. Kung A1 Michael J. Pontecorvo A1 Daniel Skovronsky A1 Christopher C. Rowe YR 2010 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/51/2/223.abstract AB PET provides a noninvasive means to evaluate the functional integrity of the presynaptic monoaminergic system in the living human brain. Methods: In this study, a novel 18F-labeled tetrabenazine derivative, 18F-(+)fluoropropyldihydrotetrabenazine (18F-AV-133), was used for the noninvasive assessment of the vesicular monoamine transporters type 2 (VMAT2) in 17 Parkinson disease (PD) patients and 6 healthy controls. The binding potential (BP) of 18F-AV-133 was calculated using Logan graphical analysis. Voxel-based and volume-of-interest–based analyses of BP images were performed to examine brain regional reductions in VMAT2 density in PD. Results: VMAT2 BP was decreased by 81% in the posterior putamen, 70% in the anterior putamen, and 48% in the caudate nucleus of PD patients. Voxel-based analysis demonstrated VMAT2 reductions in the striatum and mid brain of PD patients. Furthermore, VMAT2 BPs in the caudate nuclei significantly correlated with the clinical severity of PD. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the novel 18F-labeled ligand 18F-AV-133 can sensitively detect monoaminergic terminal reductions in PD patients. Studies with 18F-AV-133 may allow the presymptomatic identification of individuals with disorders characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic nigrostriatal afferents.