RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Use of 18F-ASEM PET to Determine the Availability of the α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor in Recent-Onset Psychosis JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 241 OP 243 DO 10.2967/jnumed.118.213686 VO 60 IS 2 A1 Jennifer M. Coughlin A1 Yong Du A1 Jeffrey L. Crawford A1 Leah H. Rubin A1 Babak Behnam Azad A1 Wojciech G. Lesniak A1 Andrew G. Horti A1 David J. Schretlen A1 Akira Sawa A1 Martin G. Pomper YR 2019 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/60/2/241.abstract AB Limited postmortem evidence suggests a diminished availability of the α7 -nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) in the hippocampus in psychosis. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used PET with 18F-ASEM (18F-JHU82132; 3-(1,4-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonan-4-yl)-6-[18F]fluorodibenzo[b,d]thiophene 5,5-dioxide), a radiotracer targeting the α7-nAChR, to compare the binding of 18F-ASEM in the hippocampus of individuals who had recent-onset psychosis with that in healthy controls. Results: Individuals with recent-onset psychosis (nonaffective psychosis or affective psychosis), particularly those with nonaffective psychosis, showed lower hippocampal binding of 18F-ASEM than healthy controls. Among patients, lower binding was associated with lower performance in 2 cognitive domains after controlling for age. Conclusion: Low availability of the α7-nAChR in the hippocampus may be linked to recent-onset psychosis. Further study is needed to assess its clinical relationship to neuropsychiatric symptoms.