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In practical positron emission tomography (PET) diagnosis, a shortened protocol is preferred for patients with brain disorders. In this study, the applicability of a shortened protocol as an alternative to the 90-min PET scan with [(11)C]SA4503 for quantitative sigma(1) receptor measurement was investigated. Tissue time-activity curves of 288 regions of interest in the brain from 32 [(11)C]SA4503-PET scans of 16 healthy subjects prior to and following administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluvoxamine or paroxetine) were applied to two algorithms of quantitative analysis; binding potential (BP) was derived from compartmental analysis based on nonlinear estimation, and total distribution volume (tDV) was derived from Logan plot analysis. As a result, although both BP and tDV tended to be underestimated by the shortened method, the estimates from the shortened protocol had good linear relationships with those of the full-length protocol. In conclusion, if approximately 10% differences in the estimated results are acceptable for a specific purpose, then a 60-min measurement protocol is capable of providing reliable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplified methods of acquisition and quantification would facilitate the use of synaptic density imaging in multicenter and longitudinal studies of Alzheimer disease (AD). We validated a simplified tissue-to-reference ratio method using SUV ratios (SUVRs) for estimating synaptic density with [ 11 C]UCB-J PET. Methods: Participants included 31 older adults with AD and 16 with normal cognition. The distribution volume ratio (DVR) using simplified reference tissue model 2 was compared with SUVR at short scan windows using a whole-cerebellum reference region. Results: Synaptic density was reduced in AD participants using DVR or SUVR. SUVR using later scan windows (60-90 or 70-90 min) was minimally biased, with the strongest correlation with DVR. Effect sizes using SUVR at these late time windows were minimally reduced compared with effect sizes with DVR. Conclusion: A simplified tissue-to-reference method may be useful for multicenter and longitudinal studies seeking to measure synaptic density in AD., (© 2024 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

The neural bases of autism are poorly understood at the molecular level, but evidence from animal models, genetics, post-mortem studies, and single-gene disorders implicate synaptopathology. Here, we use positron emission tomography (PET) to assess the density of synapses with synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) in autistic adults using 11 C-UCB-J. Twelve autistic (mean (SD) age 25 (4) years; six males), and twenty demographically matched non-autistic individuals (26 (3) years; eleven males) participated in a 11 C-UCB-J PET scan. Binding potential, BP ND , was the primary outcome measure and computed with the centrum semiovale as the reference region. Partial volume correction with Iterative Yang was applied to control for possible volumetric differences. Mixed-model statistics were calculated for between-group differences. Relationships to clinical characteristics were evaluated based on clinician ratings of autistic features. Whole cortex synaptic density was 17% lower in the autism group (p = 0.01). All brain regions in autism had lower 11 C-UCB-J BP ND compared to non-autistic participants. This effect was evident in all brain regions implicated in autism. Significant differences were observed across multiple individual regions, including the prefrontal cortex (-15%, p = 0.02), with differences most pronounced in gray matter (p < 0.0001). Synaptic density was significantly associated with clinical measures across the whole cortex (r = 0.67, p = 0.02) and multiple regions (rs = -0.58 to -0.82, ps = 0.05 to <0.01). The first in vivo investigation of synaptic density in autism with PET reveals pervasive and large-scale lower density in the cortex and across multiple brain areas. Synaptic density also correlated with clinical features, such that a greater number of autistic features were associated with lower synaptic density. These results indicate that brain-wide synaptic density may represent an as-yet-undiscovered molecular basis for the clinical phenotype of autism and associated pervasive alterations across a diversity of neural processes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

[ 18 F]FE-PE2I PET is a promising alternative to single positron emission computed tomography-based dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging in Parkinson's disease. While the excellent discriminative power of [ 18 F]FE-PE2I PET has been established, so far only one study has reported meaningful associations between motor severity scores and DAT availability. In this study, we use high-resolution (∼3 mm isotropic) PET to provide an independent validation for the clinical correlates of [ 18 F]FE-PE2I imaging in separate cross-sectional (28 participants with Parkinson's disease, Hoehn-Yahr: 2 and 14 healthy individuals) and longitudinal (initial results from 6 participants with Parkinson's disease with 2-year follow-up) cohorts. In the cross-sectional cohort, DAT availability in the putamen and substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson's disease showed a significant negative association with total motor severity ( r = -0.59, P = 0.002 for putamen; r = -0.46, P = 0.018 for substantia nigra), but not tremor severity. To our knowledge, this is the first observed association between motor severity in Parkinson's disease and DAT availability in the substantia nigra. The associations with motor severity in most nigrostriatal regions improved if tremor scores were excluded from motor scores. Further, we found significant asymmetry in DAT availability in the putamen (∼28% lower DAT availability within the more-affected side of the putamen), and DAT-based asymmetry index for the putamen was correlated with asymmetry in motor severity ( r = -0.60, P = 0.001). In the longitudinal study, [ 18 F]FE-PE2I PET detected significant annual percentage reduction of DAT availability at the individual level in the putamen (9.7 ± 2.6%), caudate (10.5 ± 3.8%) and ventral striatum (5.5 ± 2.7%), but not the substantia nigra. Longitudinal per cent reduction in DAT availability within the putamen was strongly associated with increase in motor severity ( r = 0.91, P = 0.011) at follow-up, demonstrating the high sensitivity of [ 18 F]FE-PE2I PET in tracking longitudinal changes. These results provide further evidence for the utility of [ 18 F]FE-PE2I as an important in vivo PET biomarker in future clinical trials of Parkinson's disease., Competing Interests: R.C. and S.J.F. are full-time employees of AbbVie, but their employment does not constitute any competing interest for the content presented in this article. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Purpose: [ 18 F]SynVesT-1, a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer for the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), demonstrates kinetics similar to [ 11 C]UCB-J, with high brain uptake, fast kinetics fitting well with the one-tissue compartment (1TC) model, and excellent test-retest reproducibility. Challenges arise due to the similarity between k 2 and [Formula: see text] (efflux rate of the reference region), when applying the simplified reference tissue model (SRTM) and related methods in [ 11 C]UCB-J studies to accurately estimate [Formula: see text]. This study evaluated the suitability of these methods to estimate [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 binding using centrum semiovale (CS) or cerebellum (CER) as reference regions., Method: Seven healthy participants underwent 120-min PET scans on the HRRT scanner with [ 18 F]SynVesT-1. Six participants underwent test and retest scans. Arterial blood sampling and metabolite analysis provided input functions for the 1TC model, serving as the gold standard for kinetic parameters values. SRTM, coupled SRTM (SRTMC) and SRTM2 estimated were applied to estimate [Formula: see text](ref: CS) and DVR CER (ref: CER) values. For SRTM2, the population average of [Formula: see text] was determined from the 1TC model applied to the reference region. Test-retest variability and minimum scan time were also calculated., Results: The 1TC k 2 (1/min) values for CS and CER were 0.031 ± 0.004 and 0.021 ± 0.002, respectively. Although SRTMC [Formula: see text] was much higher than 1TC [Formula: see text], SRTMC underestimated BP ND (ref: CS) and DVR CER by an average of 3% and 1% across regions, respectively, due to similar bias in k 2 and [Formula: see text] estimation. SRTM underestimated BP ND (ref: CS) by an average of 3%, but with the CER as reference region, SRTM estimation was unstable and DVR CER underestimation varied by region (mean 10%). Using population average [Formula: see text] values, SRTM2 BP ND and DVR CER showed the best agreement with 1TC estimates., Conclusion: Our findings support the use of population [Formula: see text] value in SRTM2 with [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 for the estimation of [Formula: see text] or DVR CER , regardless of the choice of reference region., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Synaptic loss is a primary pathology in Alzheimer's disease and correlates best with cognitive impairment as found in post-mortem studies. Previously, we observed in vivo reductions of synaptic density with [ 11 C]UCB-J PET (radiotracer for synaptic vesicle protein 2A) throughout the neocortex and medial temporal brain regions in early Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we applied independent component analysis to synaptic vesicle protein 2A-PET data to identify brain networks associated with cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease in a blinded data-driven manner. [ 11 C]UCB-J binding to synaptic vesicle protein 2A was measured in 38 Alzheimer's disease (24 mild Alzheimer's disease dementia and 14 mild cognitive impairment) and 19 cognitively normal participants. [ 11 C]UCB-J distribution volume ratio values were calculated with a whole cerebellum reference region. Principal components analysis was first used to extract 18 independent components to which independent component analysis was then applied. Subject loading weights per pattern were compared between groups using Kruskal-Wallis tests. Spearman's rank correlations were used to assess relationships between loading weights and measures of cognitive and functional performance: Logical Memory II, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test-long delay, Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes and Mini-Mental State Examination. We observed significant differences in loading weights among cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease dementia groups in 5 of the 18 independent components, as determined by Kruskal-Wallis tests. Only Patterns 1 and 2 demonstrated significant differences in group loading weights after correction for multiple comparisons. Excluding the cognitively normal group, we observed significant correlations between the loading weights for Pattern 1 (left temporal cortex and the cingulate gyrus) and Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes ( r = -0.54, P = 0.0019), Mini-Mental State Examination ( r = 0.48, P = 0.0055) and Logical Memory II score ( r = 0.44, P = 0.013). For Pattern 2 (temporal cortices), significant associations were demonstrated between its loading weights and Logical Memory II score ( r = 0.34, P = 0.0384). Following false discovery rate correction, only the relationship between the Pattern 1 loading weights with Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes ( r = -0.54, P = 0.0019) and Mini-Mental State Examination ( r = 0.48, P = 0.0055) remained statistically significant. We demonstrated that independent component analysis could define coherent spatial patterns of synaptic density. Furthermore, commonly used measures of cognitive performance correlated significantly with loading weights for two patterns within only the mild cognitive impairment/mild Alzheimer's disease dementia group. This study leverages data-centric approaches to augment the conventional region-of-interest-based methods, revealing distinct patterns that differentiate between mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease dementia, marking a significant advancement in the field., Competing Interests: The authors report no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Purpose: Aging is a major societal concern due to age-related functional losses. Synapses are crucial components of neural circuits, and synaptic density could be a sensitive biomarker to evaluate brain function. [ 11 C]UCB-J is a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand targeting synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), which can be used to evaluate brain synaptic density in vivo., Methods: We evaluated age-related changes in gray matter synaptic density, volume, and blood flow using [ 11 C]UCB-J PET and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a wide age range of 80 cognitive normal subjects (21-83 years old). Partial volume correction was applied to the PET data., Results: Significant age-related decreases were found in 13, two, and nine brain regions for volume, synaptic density, and blood flow, respectively. The prefrontal cortex showed the largest volume decline (4.9% reduction per decade: RPD), while the synaptic density loss was largest in the caudate (3.6% RPD) and medial occipital cortex (3.4% RPD). The reductions in caudate are consistent with previous SV2A PET studies and likely reflect that caudate is the site of nerve terminals for multiple major tracts that undergo substantial age-related neurodegeneration. There was a non-significant negative relationship between volume and synaptic density reductions in 16 gray matter regions., Conclusion: MRI and [ 11 ]C-UCB-J PET showed age-related decreases of gray matter volume, synaptic density, and blood flow; however, the regional patterns of the reductions in volume and SV2A binding were different. Those patterns suggest that MR-based measures of GM volume may not be directly representative of synaptic density., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease, but at present there is no cure, nor any disease-modifying treatments. Synaptic biomarkers from in vivo imaging have shown promise in imaging loss of synapses in PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we provide new clinical insights from a cross-sectional, high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) study of 30 PD individuals and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) with the radiotracer [ 11 C]UCB-J, which binds to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), and is therefore, a biomarker of synaptic density in the living brain. We also examined a measure of relative brain perfusion from the early part of the same PET scan. Our results provide evidence for synaptic density loss in the substantia nigra that had been previously reported, but also extend this to other early-Braak stage regions known to be affected in PD (brainstem, caudate, olfactory cortex). Importantly, we also found a direct association between synaptic density loss in the nigra and severity of symptoms in patients. A greater extent and wider distribution of synaptic density loss in PD patients with longer illness duration suggests that [ 11 C]UCB-J PET can be used to measure synapse loss with disease progression. We also demonstrate lower brain perfusion in PD vs. HC groups, with a greater extent of abnormalities in those with longer duration of illness, suggesting that [ 11 C]UCB-J PET can simultaneously provide information on changes in brain perfusion. These results implicate synaptic imaging as a useful PD biomarker for future disease-modifying interventions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

PET imaging of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A allows for noninvasive quantification of synapses. This first-in-human study aimed to evaluate the kinetics, test-retest reproducibility, and extent of specific binding of a recently developed synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A PET ligand, ( R )-4-(3-( 18 F-fluoro)phenyl)-1-((3-methylpyridin-4-yl)methyl)pyrrolidine-2-one ( 18 F-SynVesT-2), with fast brain kinetics. Methods: Nine healthy volunteers participated in this study and were scanned on a High Resolution Research Tomograph scanner with 18 F-SynVesT-2. Five volunteers were scanned twice on 2 different days. Five volunteers were rescanned with preinjected levetiracetam (20 mg/kg, intravenously). Arterial blood was collected to calculate the plasma free fraction and generate the arterial input function. Individual MR images were coregistered to a brain atlas to define regions of interest for generating time-activity curves, which were fitted with 1- and 2-tissue-compartment (1TC and 2TC) models to derive the regional distribution volume ( V T ). The regional nondisplaceable binding potential ( BP ND ) was calculated from 1TC V T , using the centrum semiovale (CS) as the reference region. Results: 18 F-SynVesT-2 was synthesized with high molar activity (187 ± 69 MBq/nmol, n = 19). The parent fraction of 18 F-SynVesT-2 in plasma was 28% ± 8% at 30 min after injection, and the plasma free fraction was high (0.29 ± 0.04). 18 F-SynVesT-2 entered the brain quickly, with an SUV peak of 8 within 10 min after injection. Regional time-activity curves fitted well with both the 1TC and the 2TC models; however, V T was estimated more reliably using the 1TC model. The 1TC V T ranged from 1.9 ± 0.2 mL/cm 3 in CS to 7.6 ± 0.8 mL/cm 3 in the putamen, with low absolute test-retest variability (6.0% ± 3.6%). Regional BP ND ranged from 1.76 ± 0.21 in the hippocampus to 3.06 ± 0.29 in the putamen. A 20-min scan was sufficient to provide reliable V T and BP ND Conclusion: 18 F-SynVesT-2 has fast kinetics, high specific uptake, and low nonspecific uptake in the brain. Consistent with the nonhuman primate results, the kinetics of 18 F-SynVesT-2 is faster than the kinetics of 11 C-UCB-J and 18 F-SynVesT-1 in the human brain and enables a shorter dynamic scan to derive physiologic information on cerebral blood flow and synapse density., (© 2024 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

Objective. Head motion correction (MC) is an essential process in brain positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. We have used the Polaris Vicra, an optical hardware-based motion tracking (HMT) device, for PET head MC. However, this requires attachment of a marker to the subject's head. Markerless HMT (MLMT) methods are more convenient for clinical translation than HMT with external markers. In this study, we validated the United Imaging Healthcare motion tracking (UMT) MLMT system using phantom and human point source studies, and tested its effectiveness on eight 18 F-FPEB and four 11 C-LSN3172176 human studies, with frame-based region of interest (ROI) analysis. We also proposed an evaluation metric, registration quality ( RQ ), and compared it to a data-driven evaluation method, motion-corrected centroid-of-distribution (MCCOD). Approach. UMT utilized a stereovision camera with infrared structured light to capture the subject's real-time 3D facial surface. Each point cloud, acquired at up to 30 Hz, was registered to the reference cloud using a rigid-body iterative closest point registration algorithm. Main results. In the phantom point source study, UMT exhibited superior reconstruction results than the Vicra with higher spatial resolution (0.35 ± 0.27 mm) and smaller residual displacements (0.12 ± 0.10 mm). In the human point source study, UMT achieved comparable performance as Vicra on spatial resolution with lower noise. Moreover, UMT achieved comparable ROI values as Vicra for all the human studies, with negligible mean standard uptake value differences, while no MC results showed significant negative bias. The RQ evaluation metric demonstrated the effectiveness of UMT and yielded comparable results to MCCOD. Significance. We performed an initial validation of a commercial MLMT system against the Vicra. Generally, UMT achieved comparable motion-tracking results in all studies and the effectiveness of UMT-based MC was demonstrated., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

Objective . Reducing dose in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging increases noise in reconstructed dynamic frames, which inevitably results in higher noise and possible bias in subsequently estimated images of kinetic parameters than those estimated in the standard dose case. We report the development of a spatiotemporal denoising technique for reduced-count dynamic frames through integrating a cascade artificial neural network (ANN) with the highly constrained back-projection (HYPR) scheme to improve low-dose parametric imaging. Approach . We implemented and assessed the proposed method using imaging data acquired with 11 C-UCB-J, a PET radioligand bound to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) in the human brain. The patch-based ANN was trained with a reduced-count frame and its full-count correspondence of a subject and was used in cascade to process dynamic frames of other subjects to further take advantage of its denoising capability. The HYPR strategy was then applied to the spatial ANN processed image frames to make use of the temporal information from the entire dynamic scan. Main results . In all the testing subjects including healthy volunteers and Parkinson's disease patients, the proposed method reduced more noise while introducing minimal bias in dynamic frames and the resulting parametric images, as compared with conventional denoising methods. Significance . Achieving 80% noise reduction with a bias of -2% in dynamic frames, which translates into 75% and 70% of noise reduction in the tracer uptake (bias, -2%) and distribution volume (bias, -5%) images, the proposed ANN+HYPR technique demonstrates the denoising capability equivalent to a 11-fold dose increase for dynamic SV2A PET imaging with 11 C-UCB-J., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

For some positron emission tomography studies, radiotracer is administered as bolus plus continuous infusion (B/I) to achieve a state of equilibrium. This approach can reduce scanning time and simplify data analysis; however, the method must be validated and optimized for each tracer. This study aimed to validate a B/I method for in vivo quantification of synaptic density using radiotracers which target the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 A: [ 11 C]UCB-J and [ 18 F]SynVesT-1. Observed mean standardized uptake values (SUV) in target tissue relative to that in plasma ( C T / C P ) or a reference tissue (SUVR-1) were calculated for 30-minute intervals across 120 or 150-minute dynamic scans and compared against one-tissue compartment (1TC) model estimates of volume of distribution ( V T ) and binding potential ( BP ND ), respectively. We were unable to reliably achieve a state of equilibrium with [ 11 C]UCB-J, and all 30-minute windows yielded overly large bias and/or variability for C T / C P and SUVR-1. With [ 18 F]SynVesT-1, a 30-minute scan 90-120 minutes post-injection yielded C T / C P and SUVR-1 values that estimated their respective kinetic parameter with sufficient accuracy and precision (within 7 ± 6%) . This B/I approach allows a clinically feasible scan at equilibrium with potentially better accuracy than a static scan SUVR following a bolus injection., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The radioligand 18F-SynVesT-1 is contained in the US patent US1151875482 and Y.H., N.N., and R.E.C. are listed as inventors.

Head motion correction is an essential component of brain PET imaging, in which even motion of small magnitude can greatly degrade image quality and introduce artifacts. Building upon previous work, we propose a new head motion correction framework taking fast reconstructions as input. The main characteristics of the proposed method are: (i) the adoption of a high-resolution short-frame fast reconstruction workflow; (ii) the development of a novel encoder for PET data representation extraction; and (iii) the implementation of data augmentation techniques. Ablation studies are conducted to assess the individual contributions of each of these design choices. Furthermore, multi-subject studies are conducted on an 18 F-FPEB dataset, and the method performance is qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated by MOLAR reconstruction study and corresponding brain Region of Interest (ROI) Standard Uptake Values (SUV) evaluation. Additionally, we also compared our method with a conventional intensity-based registration method. Our results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other methods on all subjects, and can accurately estimate motion for subjects out of the training set. All code is publicly available on GitHub: https://github.com/OnofreyLab/dl-hmc&#95;fast&#95;recon&#95;miccai2023.

Excess synaptic pruning during neurodevelopment has emerged as one of the leading hypotheses on the causal mechanism for schizophrenia. It proposes that excess synaptic elimination occurs during development before the formal onset of illness. Accordingly, synaptic deficits may be observable at all stages of illnesses, including in the early phases. The availability of [ 11 C]UCB-J, the first-in-human in vivo synaptic marker, represents an opportunity for testing this hypothesis with a relatively high level of precision. The first two published [ 11 C]UCB-J schizophrenia studies have documented significant, widespread reductions in binding in chronic patients. The present study tested the hypothesis that reductions are present in early-course patients. 18 subjects completed [ 11 C]UCB-J PET scans, (nine with schizophrenia, average duration of illness of 3.36 years, and nine demographically-matched healthy individuals). We compared binding levels, quantified as non-displaceable specific binding (BP ND ), in a set of a priori-specified brain regions of interest (ROIs). Eight ROIs (left and right hippocampus, right superior temporal and Heschl's gyrus, left and right putamen, and right caudal and rostral middle frontal gyrus) showed large reductions meeting Bonferroni corrected significant levels, p < 0.0036. Exploratory, atlas-wide analyses confirmed widespread reductions in schizophrenia. We also observed significant positive correlations between binding levels and cognitive performance and a negative correlation with the severity of delusions. These results largely replicate findings from chronic patients, indicating that extensive [ 11 C]UCB-J binding deficits are reliable and reproducible. Moreover, these results add to the growing evidence that excess synaptic pruning is a major disease mechanism for schizophrenia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Drs. Yoon, Minzenberg, Naganawa, Levinson, Hardy, Khalighi, Park, Davidzon, and Chin reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. Dr. Mormino: Consultant for Eli Lilly, Hoffman La-Roche, and Neurotrack. Dr. Ballon: Scientific advisory board for Alkermes; consultant for Teva, Corcept, Indivior, and Alto Pharmacy; research study support from Corcept, Roche, Alkermes, Janssen. Dr. Kalinowski: Consultant for Pasithea. Dr. Hardy: Consultant for Click Digital Therapeutics. Dr. Carson: Research study support from Bristol Myers Squibb, Cerevel, Invicro, and Pfizer., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Synaptic loss is considered an early pathological event and major structural correlate of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify regional patterns of covariance in synaptic density using [ 11 C]UCB-J PET and assessed the association between principal components (PC) subject scores with cognitive performance., Methods: [ 11 C]UCB-J binding was measured in 45 amyloid + participants with AD and 19 amyloid- cognitively normal participants aged 55-85. A validated neuropsychological battery assessed performance across five cognitive domains. PCA was applied to the pooled sample using distribution volume ratios (DVR) standardized (z-scored) by region from 42 bilateral regions of interest (ROI)., Results: Parallel analysis determined three significant PCs explaining 70.2% of the total variance. PC1 was characterized by positive loadings with similar contributions across the majority of ROIs. PC2 was characterized by positive and negative loadings with strongest contributions from subcortical and parietooccipital cortical regions, respectively, while PC3 was characterized by positive and negative loadings with strongest contributions from rostral and caudal cortical regions, respectively. Within the AD group, PC1 subject scores were positively correlated with performance across all cognitive domains (Pearson r = 0.24-0.40, P = 0.06-0.006), PC2 subject scores were inversely correlated with age (Pearson r = -0.45, P = 0.002) and PC3 subject scores were significantly correlated with CDR-sb (Pearson r = 0.46, P = 0.04). No significant correlations were observed between cognitive performance and PC subject scores in CN participants., Conclusions: This data-driven approach defined specific spatial patterns of synaptic density correlated with unique participant characteristics within the AD group. Our findings reinforce synaptic density as a robust biomarker of disease presence and severity in the early stages of AD., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: APM, REC, and CHvD report grants from National Institutes of Health for the conduct of the study. APM reports grants for clinical trials from Genentech, Eli Lilly, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals outside the submitted work. MKC reports research support from the Dana Foundation and Eli Lilly and clinical trials from Merck outside the submitted work. YH reports research grants from the UCB and Eli Lilly outside the submitted work. YH, NBN, and REC have a patent for a newer version of the tracer. REC is a consultant for Rodin Therapeutics and has received research funding from UCB. REC reports having received grants from AstraZeneca, Astellas, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Taisho, and UCB, outside the submitted work. CHvD reports consulting fees from Kyowa Kirin, Roche, Merck, Eli Lilly, and Janssen and grants for clinical trials from Biogen, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Merck, Eisai, Janssen, Roche, Genentech, Toyama, and Biohaven, outside the submitted work. No other disclosures are reported. AHC has licensed technology to Elysium Health, Inc. and hasreceived consulting fees from FOXO Technologies, Inc., bothfor work unrelated to the present manuscript., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: For 30 years synapse loss has been referred to as the major pathological correlate of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, this statement is based on remarkably few patients studied by autopsy or biopsy. With the recent advent of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, we have begun to evaluate the consequences of synaptic alterations in vivo., Methods: We examined the relationship between synaptic density measured by [ 11 C]UCB-J PET and neuropsychological test performance in 45 participants with early AD., Results: Global synaptic density showed a significant positive association with global cognition and performance on five individual cognitive domains in participants with early AD. Synaptic density was a stronger predictor of cognitive performance than gray matter volume., Conclusion: These results confirm neuropathologic studies demonstrating a significant association between synaptic density and cognitive performance, and suggest that this correlation extends to the early stages of AD., (© 2022 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Background: Antiepileptic drugs, levetiracetam (LEV) and brivaracetam (BRV), bind to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A). In their anti-seizure activity, speed of brain entry may be an important factor. BRV showed faster entry into the human and non-human primate brain, based on more rapid displacement of SV2A tracer 11 C-UCB-J. To extract additional information from previous human studies, we developed a nonlinear model that accounted for drug entry into the brain and binding to SV2A using brain 11 C-UCB-J positron emission tomography (PET) data and the time-varying plasma drug concentration, to assess the kinetic parameter K 1 (brain entry rate) of the drugs., Method: Displacement (LEV or BRV p.i. 60 min post-tracer injection) and post-dose scans were conducted in five healthy subjects. Blood samples were collected for measurement of drug concentration and the tracer arterial input function. Fitting of nonlinear differential equations was applied simultaneously to time-activity curves (TACs) from displacement and post-dose scans to estimate 5 parameters: K 1 (drug), K 1 ( 11 C-UCB-J, displacement), K 1 ( 11 C-UCB-J, post-dose), free fraction of 11 C-UCB-J in brain (f ND ( 11 C-UCB-J)), and distribution volume of 11 C-UCB-J (V T (UCB-J)). Other parameters (K D (drug), K D ( 11 C-UCB-J), f P (drug), f P ( 11 C-UCB-J, displacement), f P ( 11 C-UCB-J, post-dose), f ND (drug), k off (drug), k off ( 11 C-UCB-J)) were fixed to literature or measured values., Results: The proposed model described well the TACs in all subjects; however, estimates of drug K 1 were unstable in comparison with 11 C-UCB-J K 1 estimation. To provide a conservative estimate of the relative speed of brain entry for BRV vs. LEV, we determined a lower bound on the ratio BRV K 1 /LEV K 1 , by finding the lowest BRV K 1 or highest LEV K 1 that were statistically consistent with the data. Specifically, we used the F test to compare the residual sum of squares with fixed BRV K 1 to that with floating BRV K 1 to obtain the lowest possible BRV K 1 ; the same analysis was performed to find the highest LEV K 1 . The lower bound of the ratio BRV K 1 /LEV K 1 was ~ 7., Conclusions: Under appropriate conditions, this advanced nonlinear model can directly estimate entry rates of drugs into tissue by analysis of PET TACs. Using a conservative statistical cutoff, BRV enters the brain at least sevenfold faster than LEV., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

PET technology has produced many radiopharmaceuticals that target specific brain proteins and other measures of brain function. Recently, a new approach has emerged to image synaptic density by targeting the synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), an integral glycoprotein in the membrane of synaptic vesicles and widely distributed throughout the brain. Multiple SV2A ligands have been developed and translated to human use. The most successful of these to date is 11 C-UCB-J, because of its high uptake, moderate metabolism, and effective quantification with a 1-tissue-compartment model. Further, since SV2A is the target of the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam, human blocking studies have characterized specific binding and potential reference regions. Regional brain SV2A levels were shown to correlate with those of synaptophysin, another commonly used marker of synaptic density, providing the basis for SV2A PET imaging to have broad utility across neuropathologic diseases. In this review, we highlight the development of SV2A tracers and the evaluation of quantification methods, including compartment modeling and simple tissue ratios. Mouse and rat models of neurodegenerative diseases have been studied with small-animal PET, providing validation by comparison to direct tissue measures. Next, we review human PET imaging results in multiple neurodegenerative disorders. Studies on Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease have progressed most rapidly at multiple centers, with generally consistent results of patterns of SV2A or synaptic loss. In Alzheimer disease, the synaptic loss patterns differ from those of amyloid, tau, and 18 F-FDG, although intertracer and interregional correlations have been found. Smaller studies have been reported in other disorders, including Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration. In conclusion, PET imaging of SV2A has rapidly developed, and qualified radioligands are available. PET studies on humans indicate that SV2A loss might be specific to disease-associated brain regions and consistent with synaptic density loss. The recent availability of new 18 F tracers, 18 F-SynVesT-1 and 18 F-SynVesT-2, will substantially broaden the application of SV2A PET. Future studies are needed in larger patient cohorts to establish the clinical value of SV2A PET and its potential for diagnosis and progression monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as efficacy assessment of disease-modifying therapies., (© 2022 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

Head motion during PET scans causes image quality degradation, decreased concentration in regions with high uptake and incorrect outcome measures from kinetic analysis of dynamic datasets. Previously, we proposed a data-driven method, center of tracer distribution (COD), to detect head motion without an external motion tracking device. There, motion was detected using one dimension of the COD trace with a semiautomatic detection algorithm, requiring multiple user defined parameters and manual intervention. In this study, we developed a new data-driven motion detection algorithm, which is automatic, self-adaptive to noise level, does not require user-defined parameters and uses all three dimensions of the COD trace (3DCOD). 3DCOD was first validated and tested using 30 simulation studies ( 18 F-FDG, N = 15; 11 C-raclopride (RAC), N = 15) with large motion. The proposed motion correction method was tested on 22 real human datasets, with 20 acquired from a high resolution research tomograph (HRRT) scanner ( 18 F-FDG, N = 10; 11 C-RAC, N = 10) and 2 acquired from the Siemens Biograph mCT scanner. Real-time hardware-based motion tracking information (Vicra) was available for all real studies and was used as the gold standard. 3DCOD was compared to Vicra, no motion correction (NMC), one-direction COD (our previous method called 1DCOD) and two conventional frame-based image registration (FIR) algorithms, i.e., FIR1 (based on predefined frames reconstructed with attenuation correction) and FIR2 (without attenuation correction) for both simulation and real studies. For the simulation studies, 3DCOD yielded -2.3 ± 1.4% (mean ± standard deviation across all subjects and 11 brain regions) error in region of interest (ROI) uptake for 18 F-FDG (-3.4 ± 1.7% for 11 C-RAC across all subjects and 2 regions) as compared to Vicra (perfect correction) while NMC, FIR1, FIR2 and 1DCOD yielded -25.4 ± 11.1% (-34.5 ± 16.1% for 11 C- RAC), -13.4 ± 3.5% (-16.1 ± 4.6%), -5.7 ± 3.6% (-8.0 ± 4.5%) and -2.6 ± 1.5% (-5.1 ± 2.7%), respectively. For real HRRT studies, 3DCOD yielded -0.3 ± 2.8% difference for 18 F-FDG (-0.4 ± 3.2% for 11 C-RAC) as compared to Vicra while NMC, FIR1, FIR2 and 1DCOD yielded -14.9 ± 9.0% (-24.5 ± 14.6%), -3.6 ± 4.9% (-13.4 ± 14.3%), -0.6 ± 3.4% (-6.7 ± 5.3%) and -1.5 ± 4.2% (-2.2 ± 4.1%), respectively. In summary, the proposed motion correction method yielded comparable performance to the hardware-based motion tracking method for multiple tracers, including very challenging cases with large frequent head motion, in studies performed on a non-TOF scanner., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Arginine vasopressin is a hormone that is synthesized mainly in the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior pituitary. Receptors for vasopressin are categorized into at least 3 subtypes (V 1A , V 1B , and V 2 ). Among these subtypes, the V 1B receptor (V 1B R), highly expressed in the pituitary, is a primary regulator of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and thus a potential target for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. N - tert -butyl-2-[2-(6-methoxypyridine-2-yl)-6-[3-(morpholin-4-yl)propoxy]-4-oxopyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-3(4 H )-yl]acetamide (TASP699) is a novel PET radiotracer with high affinity and selectivity for V 1B R. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetic and binding profiles of 11 C-TASP699 in humans and determine its utility in an occupancy study of a novel V 1B R antagonist, TS-121. Methods: Six healthy subjects were scanned twice with 11 C-TASP699 to determine the most appropriate kinetic model for analysis of imaging data and test-retest reproducibility of outcome measures. Nine healthy subjects were scanned before and after administration of TS-121 (active component: THY1773) to assess V 1B R occupancy. Metabolite-corrected arterial input functions were obtained. Pituitary time-activity curves were analyzed with 1- and 2-tissue-compartment (1TC and 2TC, respectively) models and multilinear analysis 1 (MA1) to calculate distribution volume ( V T ). Relative test-retest variability (TRV) and absolute TRV were calculated. Since no brain region could be used as a reference region, percentage change in V T after TS-121 administration was computed to assess its receptor occupancy and correlate with plasma concentrations of the drug. Results: 11 C-TASP699 showed high uptake in the pituitary and no uptake in any brain region. The 2TC model provided better fits than the 1TC model. Because the MA1 V T estimates were similar to the 2TC V T estimates, MA1 was the model of choice. The TRV of V T was good (TRV, -2% ± 14%; absolute TRV, 11%). THY1773 reduced V T in a dose-dependent fashion, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 177 ± 52 ng/mL in plasma concentration. There were no adverse events resulting in discontinuation from the study. Conclusion: 11 C-TASP699 was shown to display appropriate kinetics in humans, with substantial specific binding and good reproducibility of V T Therefore, this tracer is suitable for measurement of V 1B R in the human pituitary and the V 1B R occupancy of TS-121, a novel V 1B R antagonist., (© 2022 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

The discovery of ketamine as a rapid and robust antidepressant marks the beginning of a new era in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Ketamine is thought to produce rapid and sustained antidepressant effects through restoration of lost synaptic connections. We investigated this hypothesis in humans for the first time using positron emission tomography (PET) and [ 11 C]UCB-J-a radioligand that binds to the synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) and provides an index of axon terminal density. Overall, we did not find evidence of a measurable effect on SV2A density 24 h after a single administration of ketamine in non-human primates, healthy controls (HCs), or individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), despite a robust reduction in symptoms. A post-hoc, exploratory analysis suggests that patients with lower SV2A density at baseline may exhibit increased SV2A density 24 h after ketamine. This increase in SV2A was associated with a reduction in depression severity, as well as an increase in dissociative symptoms. These initial findings suggest that a restoration of synaptic connections in patients with lower SV2A at baseline may underlie ketamine's therapeutic effects, however, this needs replication in a larger sample. Further work is needed to build on these initial findings and further establish the nuanced pre- and post-synaptic mechanisms underpinning ketamine's therapeutic effects., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Opioid receptors are expressed throughout the brain and play a major role in regulating striatal dopamine (DA) release. Clinical studies have shown that naloxone (NAL, a nonspecific opioid antagonist) in individuals with opioid use disorder and morphine (MRP, a nonspecific opioid agonist) in healthy controls, resulted in DA release in the dorsal and ventral striatum, respectively. It is not known whether the underlying patterns of striatal DA release are associated with the striatal distribution of opioid receptors. We leveraged previously published PET datasets (collected in independent cohorts) to study the brain-wide distribution of opioid receptors and to compare striatal opioid receptor availability with striatal DA release patterns. We identified three major gray matter segments based on availability maps of DA and opioid receptors: striatum, and primary and secondary opioid segments with high and intermediate opioid receptor availability, respectively. Patterns of DA release induced by NAL and MRP were inversely associated and correlated with kappa (NAL: r(68) = -0.81, MRP: r(68) = 0.54), and mu (NAL: r(68) = -0.62, MRP: r(68) = 0.46) opioid receptor availability. Kappa opioid receptor availability accounted for a unique part of variance in NAL- and MRP-DA release patterns (ΔR 2 >0.14, p <.0001). In sum, distributions of opioid receptors distinguished major cortical and subcortical regions. Patterns of NAL- and MRP-induced DA release had inverse associations with striatal opioid receptor availability. Our approach provides a pattern-based characterization of drug-induced DA targets and is relevant for modeling the role of opioid receptors in modulating striatal DA release., (© 2021 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Sites of early neuropathologic change provide important clues regarding the initial clinical features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have shown significant reductions in hippocampal synaptic density in participants with AD, consistent with the early degeneration of entorhinal cortical (ERC) cells that project to hippocampus via the perforant path. In this study, [ 11 C]UCB-J binding to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) and [ 18 F]flortaucipir binding to tau were measured via PET in 10 participants with AD (5 mild cognitive impairment, 5 mild dementia) and 10 cognitively normal participants. In the overall sample, ERC tau was inversely associated with hippocampal synaptic density (r = -0.59, p = 0.009). After correction for partial volume effects, the association of ERC tau with hippocampal synaptic density was stronger in the overall sample (r = -0.61, p = 0.007) and in the AD group where the effect size was large, but not statistically significant (r = -0.58, p = 0.06). This inverse association of ERC tau and hippocampal synaptic density may reflect synaptic failure due to tau pathology in ERC neurons projecting to the hippocampus., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Preclinical studies have revealed robust and long-lasting alterations in dendritic spines in the brain following cocaine exposure. Such alterations are hypothesized to underlie enduring maladaptive behaviours observed in cocaine use disorder (CUD). The current study explored whether synaptic density is altered in CUD. Fifteen individuals with DSM-5 CUD and 15 demographically matched healthy control (HC) subjects participated in a single 11 C-UCB-J positron emission tomography scan to assess density of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A). The volume of distribution (V T ) and the plasma-free fraction-corrected form of the total volume of distribution (V T /f P ) were analysed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and ventral striatum. A significant diagnostic-group-by-region interaction was observed for V T and V T /f P . Post hoc analyses revealed no differences on V T , while for V T /f P showed lower values in CUD as compared with HC subjects in the ACC (-10.9%, p = 0.02), ventromedial PFC (-9.9%, p = 0.02) and medial OFC (-9.9%, p = 0.04). Regional V T /f P values in CUD, though unrelated to measures of lifetime cocaine use, were positively correlated with the frequency of recent cocaine use (p = 0.02-0.03) and negatively correlated with cocaine abstinence (p = 0.008-0.03). These findings provide initial preliminary in vivo evidence of altered (lower) synaptic density in the PFC of humans with CUD. Cross-sectional variation in SV2A availability as a function of recent cocaine use and abstinence suggests that synaptic density may be dynamically and plastically regulated by acute cocaine, an observation that merits direct testing by studies using more definitive longitudinal designs., (© 2021 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Decreased synaptic spine density has been the most consistently reported postmortem finding in schizophrenia (SCZ). A recently developed in vivo measure of synaptic vesicle density estimated using the novel positron emission tomography (PET) ligand [ 11 C]UCB-J is a proxy measure of synaptic density. In this study we determined whether [ 11 C]UCB-J binding, an in vivo measure of synaptic vesicle density, is altered in SCZ. SCZ patients (n = 13, 3 F) and age-, gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) (n = 15, 3 F) underwent PET imaging using [ 11 C]UCB-J and high-resolution research tomography (HRRT). [ 11 C]UCB-J distribution volume (V T ) and binding potential (BP ND ) were estimated using a 1T model with centrum-semiovale as the reference region. Relative to HCs, SCZ patients, showed significantly lower [ 11 C]UCB-J BP ND with significant differences in the frontal cortex (-10%, Cohen's d = 1.01), anterior cingulate (-11%, Cohen's d = 1.24), hippocampus (-15%, Cohen's d = 1.29), occipital cortex (-14%, Cohen's d = 1.34), parietal cortex (-10%, p = 0.03, Cohen's d = 0.85) and temporal cortex (-11%, Cohen's d = 1.23). These differences remained significant after partial volume correction. [ 11 C]UCB-J BP ND did not correlate with cumulative antipsychotic exposure or gray-matter volume. Consistent with the postmortem and in vivo findings, synaptic vesicle density is lower across several brain regions in SCZ. Frontal synaptic vesicle density correlated with psychosis symptom severity and cognitive performance on social cognition and processing speed. These findings indicate that [ 11 C]UCB-J PET is a sensitive tool to detect lower synaptic density in SCZ and holds promise for future studies of early detection and disease progression., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Synaptic injury is a pathological hallmark of neurological impairment in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, PLWH), a common complication despite viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Measurement of synaptic density in living humans may allow better understanding of HIV neuropathogenesis and provide a dynamic biomarker for therapeutic studies. We applied novel synaptic vesical protein 2A (SV2A) positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging to investigate synaptic density in the frontostriatalthalamic region in PLWH and HIV-uninfected participants., Methods: In this cross-sectional pilot study,13 older male PLWH on ART underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and PET scanning with the SV2A ligand [11C]UCB-J with partial volume correction and had neurocognitive assessments. SV2A binding potential (BPND) in the frontostriatalthalamic circuit was compared to 13 age-matched HIV-uninfected participants and assessed with respect to neurocognitive performance in PLWH., Results: PLWH had 14% lower frontostriatalthalamic SV2A synaptic density compared to HIV-uninfected (PLWH: mean [SD], 3.93 [0.80]; HIV-uninfected: 4.59 [0.43]; P = .02, effect size 1.02). Differences were observed in widespread additional regions in exploratory analyses. Higher frontostriatalthalamic SV2A BPND associated with better grooved pegboard performance, a measure of motor coordination, in PLWH (r = 0.61, P = .03)., Conclusions: In a pilot study, SV2A PET imaging reveals reduced synaptic density in older male PLWH on ART compared to HIV-uninfected in the frontostriatalthalamic circuit and other cortical areas. Larger studies controlling for factors in addition to age are needed to determine whether differences are attributable to HIV or comorbidities in PLWH. SV2A imaging is a promising biomarker for studies of neuropathogenesis and therapeutic interventions in HIV., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Purpose: 11 C-UCB-J PET imaging, targeting synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), has been shown to be a useful indicator of synaptic density in Alzheimer's disease (AD). For SV2A imaging, a decrease in apparent tracer uptake is often due to the combination of gray-matter (GM) atrophy and SV2A decrease in the remaining tissue. Our aim is to reveal the true SV2A change by performing partial volume correction (PVC)., Methods: We performed two PVC algorithms, Müller-Gärtner (MG) and 'iterative Yang' (IY), on 17 AD participants and 11 cognitive normal (CN) participants using the brain-dedicated HRRT scanner. Distribution volume V T , the rate constant K 1 , binding potential BP ND (centrum semiovale as reference region), and tissue volume were compared., Results: In most regions, both PVC algorithms reduced the between-group differences. Alternatively, in hippocampus, IY increased the significance of between-group differences while MG reduced it (V T , BP ND and K 1 group differences: uncorrected: 20%, 27%, 17%; MG: 18%, 22%, 14%; IY: 22%, 28%, 17%). The group difference in hippocampal volume (10%) was substantially smaller than any PET measures. MG increased GM binding values to a greater extent than IY due to differences in algorithm assumptions., Conclusion: 11 C-UCB-J binding is significantly reduced in AD hippocampus, but PVC is important to adjust for significant volume reduction. After correction, PET measures are substantially more sensitive to group differences than volumetric MRI measures. Assumptions of each PVC algorithm are important and should be carefully examined and validated. For 11 C-UCB-J, the less stringent assumptions of IY support its use as a PVC algorithm over MG., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Purpose: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with various tracers is increasingly used in Alzheimer's disease (AD) studies. However, access to PET scans using new or less-available tracers with sophisticated synthesis and short half-life isotopes may be very limited. Therefore, it is of great significance and interest in AD research to assess the feasibility of generating synthetic PET images of less-available tracers from the PET image of another common tracer, in particular 18 F-FDG., Methods: We implemented advanced deep learning methods using the U-Net model to predict 11 C-UCB-J PET images of synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), a surrogate of synaptic density, from 18 F-FDG PET data. Dynamic 18 F-FDG and 11 C-UCB-J scans were performed in 21 participants with normal cognition (CN) and 33 participants with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cerebellum was used as the reference region for both tracers. For 11 C-UCB-J image prediction, four network models were trained and tested, which included 1) 18 F-FDG SUV ratio (SUVR) to 11 C-UCB-J SUVR, 2) 18 F-FDG K i ratio to 11 C-UCB-J SUVR, 3) 18 F-FDG SUVR to 11 C-UCB-J distribution volume ratio (DVR), and 4) 18 F-FDG K i ratio to 11 C-UCB-J DVR. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), structure similarity index (SSIM), and Pearson's correlation coefficient were calculated for evaluating the overall image prediction accuracy. Mean bias of various ROIs in the brain and correlation plots between predicted images and true images were calculated for ROI-based prediction accuracy. Following a similar training and evaluation strategy, 18 F-FDG SUVR to 11 C-PiB SUVR network was also trained and tested for 11 C-PiB static image prediction., Results: The results showed that all four network models obtained satisfactory 11 C-UCB-J static and parametric images. For 11 C-UCB-J SUVR prediction, the mean ROI bias was -0.3% ± 7.4% for the AD group and -0.5% ± 7.3% for the CN group with 18 F-FDG SUVR as the input, -0.7% ± 8.1% for the AD group, and -1.3% ± 7.0% for the CN group with 18 F-FDG K i ratio as the input. For 11 C-UCB-J DVR prediction, the mean ROI bias was -1.3% ± 7.5% for the AD group and -2.0% ± 6.9% for the CN group with 18 F-FDG SUVR as the input, -0.7% ± 9.0% for the AD group, and -1.7% ± 7.8% for the CN group with 18 F-FDG K i ratio as the input. For 11 C-PiB SUVR image prediction, which appears to be a more challenging task, the incorporation of additional diagnostic information into the network is needed to control the bias below 5% for most ROIs., Conclusions: It is feasible to use 3D U-Net-based methods to generate synthetic 11 C-UCB-J PET images from 18 F-FDG images with reasonable prediction accuracy. It is also possible to predict 11 C-PiB SUVR images from 18 F-FDG images, though the incorporation of additional non-imaging information is needed., (© 2021 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

[ 11 C]UCB-J PET for synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 A (SV2A) has been proposed as a suitable marker for synaptic density in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We compared [ 11 C]UCB-J binding for synaptic density and [ 18 F]FDG uptake for metabolism (correlated with neuronal activity) in 14 AD and 11 cognitively normal (CN) participants. We assessed both absolute and relative outcome measures in brain regions of interest, i.e., K 1 or R 1 for [ 11 C]UCB-J perfusion, V T (volume of distribution) or DVR to cerebellum for [ 11 C]UCB-J binding to SV2A; and K i or K i R to cerebellum for [ 18 F]FDG metabolism. [ 11 C]UCB-J binding and [ 18 F]FDG metabolism showed a similar magnitude of reduction in the medial temporal lobe of AD -compared to CN participants. However, the magnitude of reduction of [ 11 C]UCB-J binding in neocortical regions was less than that observed with [ 18 F]FDG metabolism. Inter-tracer correlations were also higher in the medial temporal regions between synaptic density and metabolism, with lower correlations in neocortical regions. [ 11 C]UCB-J perfusion showed a similar pattern to [ 18 F]FDG metabolism, with high inter-tracer regional correlations. In summary, we conducted the first in vivo PET imaging of synaptic density and metabolism in the same AD participants and reported a concordant reduction in medial temporal regions but a discordant reduction in neocortical regions.

Purpose: The net uptake rate constant (K i ) derived from dynamic imaging is considered the gold standard quantification index for FDG PET. In this study, we investigated the feasibility and assessed the clinical usefulness of generating K i images for FDG PET using only two 5-min scans with population-based input function (PBIF)., Methods: Using a Siemens Biograph mCT, 10 subjects with solid lung nodules underwent a single-bed dynamic FDG PET scan and 13 subjects (five healthy and eight cancer patients) underwent a whole-body dynamic FDG PET scan in continuous-bed-motion mode. For each subject, a standard K i image was generated using the complete 0-90 min dynamic data with Patlak analysis (t* = 20 min) and individual patient's input function, while a dual-time-point K i image was generated from two 5-min scans based on the Patlak equations at early and late scans with the PBIF. Different start times for the early (ranging from 20 to 55 min with an increment of 5 min) and late (ranging from 50 to 85 min with an increment of 5 min) scans were investigated with the interval between scans being at least 30 min (36 protocols in total). The optimal dual-time-point protocols were then identified. Regions of interest (ROI) were drawn on nodules for the lung nodule subjects, and on tumors, cerebellum, and bone marrow for the whole-body-imaging subjects. Quantification accuracy was compared using the mean value of each ROI between standard K i (gold standard) and dual-time-point K i , as well as between standard K i and relative standardized uptake value (SUV) change that is currently used in clinical practice. Correlation coefficients and least squares fits were calculated for each dual-time-point protocol and for each ROI. Then, the predefined criteria for identifying a reliable dual-time-point K i estimation for each ROI were empirically determined as: (1) the squared correlation coefficient (R 2 ) between standard K i and dual-time-point K i is larger than 0.9; (2) the absolute difference between the slope of the equality line (1.0) and that of the fitted line when plotting standard K i versus dual-time-point K i is smaller than 0.1; (3) the absolute value of the intercept of the fitted line when plotting standard K i versus dual-time-point K i normalized by the mean of the standard K i across all subjects for each ROI is smaller than 10%. Using Williams' one-tailed t test, the correlation coefficient (R) between standard K i and dual-time-point K i was further compared with that between standard K i and relative SUV change, for each dual-time-point protocol and for each ROI., Results: Reliable dual-time-point K i images were obtained for all the subjects using our proposed method. The percentage error introduced by the PBIF on the dual-time-point K i estimation was smaller than 1% for all 36 protocols. Using the predefined criteria, reliable dual-time-point K i estimation could be obtained in 25 of 36 protocols for nodules and in 34 of 36 protocols for tumors. A longer time interval between scans provided a more accurate K i estimation in general. Using the protocol of 20-25 min plus 80-85 or 85-90 min, very high correlations were obtained between standard K i and dual-time-point K i (R 2  = 0.994, 0.980, 0.971 and 0.925 for nodule, tumor, cerebellum, and bone marrow), with all the slope values with differences ≤0.033 from 1 and all the intercept values with differences ≤0.0006 mL/min/cm 3 from 0. The corresponding correlations were much lower between standard K i and relative SUV change (R 2  = 0.673, 0.684, 0.065, 0.246). Dual-time-point K i showed a significantly higher quantification accuracy with respect to standard K i than relative SUV change for all the 36 protocols (p < 0.05 using Williams' one-tailed t test)., Conclusions: Our proposed approach can obtain reliable K i images and accurate K i quantification from dual-time-point scans (5-min per scan), and provide significantly higher quantification accuracy than relative SUV change that is currently used in clinical practice., (© 2021 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.)

Cannabis is one of the most commonly and widely used psychoactive drugs. The rates of cannabis misuse have been increasing. Therefore, understanding the effects of cannabis use on the brain is important. Adolescent and adult rodents exposed to repeated administration of cannabinoids show persistent microstructural changes in the hippocampus both pre- and post-synaptically. Whether similar alterations exist in human cannabis users, has not yet been demonstrated in vivo. Positron emission tomography (PET) and [ 11 C]UCB-J, a radioligand for the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), were used to study hippocampal synaptic integrity in vivo in an equal number (n = 12) of subjects with DSM-5 cannabis use disorder (CUD) and matched healthy controls (HC). Arterial sampling was used to measure plasma input function. [11C]UCB-J binding potential (BP ND ) was estimated using a one-tissue (1T) compartment model with centrum semiovale as the reference region. Hippocampal function was assessed using a verbal memory task. Relative to HCs, CUDs showed significantly lower [ 11 C]UCB-J BP ND in the hippocampus (~10%, p = 0.008, effect size 1.2) and also performed worse on the verbal memory task. These group differences in hippocampal BP ND persisted after correction for volume differences (p = 0.013), and correction for both age and volume (p = 0.03). We demonstrate, for the first time, in vivo evidence of lower hippocampal synaptic density in cannabis use disorder. These results are consistent with the microstructural findings from experimental studies with cannabinoids in animals, and studies of hippocampal macrostructure in human with CUD. Whether the lower hippocampal synaptic density resolves with abstinence warrants further study., (© 2020. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Acetylcholine (ACh) has distinct functional roles in striatum compared with cortex, and imbalance between these systems may contribute to neuropsychiatric disease. Preclinical studies indicate markedly higher ACh concentrations in the striatum. The goal of this work was to leverage positron emission tomography (PET) imaging estimates of drug occupancy at cholinergic receptors to explore ACh variation across the human brain, because these measures can be influenced by competition with endogenous neurotransmitter. PET scans were analyzed from healthy human volunteers (n = 4) and nonhuman primates (n = 2) scanned with the M1-selective radiotracer [11C]LSN3172176 in the presence of muscarinic antagonist scopolamine, and human volunteers (n = 10) scanned with the α4β2* nicotinic ligand (-)-[18F]flubatine during nicotine challenge. In all cases, occupancy estimates within striatal regions were consistently lower (M1/scopolamine human scans, 31 ± 3.4% occupancy in striatum, 43 ± 2.9% in extrastriatal regions, p = 0.0094; nonhuman primate scans, 42 ± 26% vs. 69 ± 28%, p < 0.0001; α4β2*/nicotine scans, 67 ± 15% vs. 74 ± 16%, p = 0.0065), indicating higher striatal ACh concentration. Subject-level measures of these concentration differences were estimated, and whole-brain images of regional ACh concentration gradients were generated. These results constitute the first in vivo estimates of regional variation in ACh concentration in the living brain and offer a novel experimental method to assess potential ACh imbalances in clinical populations., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: Synaptic abnormalities are associated with many brain disorders. Recently, we developed a novel synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) radiotracer [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 and demonstrated its excellent imaging and binding properties in nonhuman primates. The aim of this study was to perform dosimetry calculations in nonhuman primates and to evaluate this tracer in humans and assess its test-retest reliability in comparison with [ 11 C]UCB-J., Methods: Three rhesus monkeys underwent whole body dynamic PET scanning to estimate the absorbed dose. PET scans in six healthy human subjects were acquired. Time-activity curves (TACs) were generated with defined regions of interest (ROI). Reproducibility of distribution volume (V T ) values and its sensitivity to scan duration were assessed with the one-tissue compartment (1TC) model. Non-displaceable binding potential (BP ND ) was calculated using centrum semiovale as the reference region., Results: The dosimetry study showed high uptake in the urinary bladder and brain. In humans, [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 displayed high uptake with maximum SUV of ~10 and appropriate kinetics with a quick rise in tracer uptake followed by a gradual clearance. Mean 1TC V T values (mL/cm 3 ) ranged from 3.4 (centrum semiovale) to 19.6 (putamen) and were similar to those of [ 11 C]UCB-J. Regional BP ND values were 2.7-4.7 in gray matter areas, and mean BP ND values across all ROIs were ~ 21% higher than those of [ 11 C]UCB-J. The absolute test-retest variability of V T and BP ND was excellent (< 9%) across all brain regions., Conclusions: [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 demonstrates outstanding characteristics in humans: fast and high brain uptake, appropriate tissue kinetics, high levels of specific binding, and excellent test-retest reproducibility of binding parameters. As such, [ 18 F]SynVesT-1 is proved to be a favorable radiotracer for SV2A imaging and quantification in humans.

This was a first-in-human study of the PET radiotracer 11 C-LSN3172176 for the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype M1. The objectives of the study were to determine the appropriate kinetic model to quantify binding of the tracer to M1 receptors, and the reliability of the chosen quantification method. Methods: Six healthy subjects completed the test-retest protocol, and 5 healthy subjects completed the baseline-scopolamine blocking protocol. Multiple modeling methods were applied to calculate total distribution volume ( V T ) and nondisplaceable binding potential ( BP ND ) in various brain regions. The reference region was selected from the blocking study. The occupancy plot was applied to compute receptor occupancy by scopolamine and nondisplaceable distribution volume. Results: Tracer uptake was highest in the striatum, followed by neocortical regions and white matter, and lowest in the cerebellum. Regional time-activity curves were fitted well by all models. The 2-tissue-compartment (2TC) model fits were good, but the 2TC parameters often could not be reliably estimated. Because V T correlated well between the 2TC and 1-tissue-compartment (1TC) models after exclusion of unreliable estimates, the 1TC model was chosen as the most appropriate. The cerebellum showed the lowest V T , consistent with preclinical studies showing little to no specific binding in the region. Further, cerebellar V T did not change between baseline and blocking scans, indicating that the cerebellum is a suitable reference region. The simplified reference tissue model (SRTM) slightly underestimated 1TC BP ND , and the simplified reference tissue model 2 (SRTM2) improved BP ND estimation. An 80-min scan was sufficient to quantify V T and BP ND The test-retest study showed excellent absolute test-retest variability for 1TC V T (≤5%) and BP ND (≤10%). In the baseline and blocking studies, occupancy values were lower in the striatum than in nonstriatal regions, as may be attributed to differences in regional acetylcholine concentrations. Conclusion: The 1TC and SRTM2 models are appropriate for quantitative analysis of 11 C-LSN3172176 imaging data. 11 C-LSN3172176 displayed excellent test-retest reproducibility and is a highly promising ligand to quantify M1 receptors in the human brain., (© 2021 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

The use of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A radiotracers with PET imaging could provide a way to measure synaptic density quantitatively in living humans. 11 C-UCB-J (( R )-1-((3-( 11 C-methyl- 11 C)pyridin-4-yl)methyl)-4-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)pyrrolidin-2-one), previously developed and assessed in nonhuman primates and humans, showed excellent kinetic properties as a PET radioligand. However, it is labeled with the short half-life isotope 11 C. We developed a new tracer, an 18 F-labeled difluoro-analog of UCB-J ( 18 F-SynVesT-1, also known as 18 F-SDM-8), which displayed favorable properties in monkeys. The purpose of this first-in-human study was to assess the kinetic and binding properties of 18 F-SynVesT-1 and compare with 11 C-UCB-J. Methods: Eight healthy volunteers participated in a baseline study of 18 F-SynVesT-1. Four of these subjects were also scanned after a blocking dose of the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam (20 mg/kg). Metabolite-corrected arterial input functions were measured. Regional time-activity curves were analyzed using 1-tissue-compartment (1TC) and 2-tissue-compartment (2TC) models and multilinear analysis 1 to compute total distribution volume ( V T ) and binding potential ( BP ND ). The centrum semiovale was used as a reference region. The Lassen plot was applied to compute levetiracetam occupancy and nondisplaceable distribution volume. SUV ratio-1 (SUVR-1) over several time windows was compared with BP ND Results: Regional time-activity curves were fitted better with the 2TC model than the 1TC model, but 2TC V T estimates were unstable. The 1TC V T values matched well with those from the 2TC model (excluding the unstable values). Thus, 1TC was judged as the most useful model for quantitative analysis of 18 F-SynVesT-1 imaging data. The minimum scan time for stable V T measurement was 60 min. The rank order of V T and BP ND was similar between 18 F-SynVesT-1 and 11 C-UCB-J. Regional V T was slightly higher for 11 C-UCB-J, but BP ND was higher for 18 F-SynVesT-1, though these differences were not significant. Levetiracetam reduced the uptake of 18 F-SynVesT-1 in all regions and produced occupancy of 85.7%. The SUVR-1 of 18 F-SynVesT-1 from 60 to 90 min matched best with 1TC BP ND Conclusion: The novel synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A tracer, 18 F-SynVesT-1, displays excellent kinetic and in vivo binding properties in humans and holds great potential for the imaging and quantification of synaptic density in neuropsychiatric disorders., (© 2021 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

11 C-UCB-J (( R )-1-((3-( 11 C-methyl- 11 C)pyridin-4-yl)methyl)-4-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)pyrrolidin-2-one) is a PET tracer for synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A, which may be a marker of synaptic density. To simplify the scan protocol, SUV ratios (SUVRs) were compared with model-based nondisplaceable binding potential ( BP ND ) to select the optimal time window in healthy and neuropsychiatric subjects. Methods: In total, 141 scans were acquired for 90 min. Arterial blood sampling and metabolite analysis were conducted. SUVR-1 (centrum semiovale reference region) was computed for six 30-min windows and compared with 1-tissue-compartment model BP ND Simulations were performed to assess the time dependency of SUVR-1. Results: Greater correlation and less bias were observed for SUVR-1 at later time windows for all subjects. Simulations showed that the agreement between SUVR-1 and BP ND is time-dependent. Conclusion: The 60- to 90-min period provided the best match between SUVR-1 and BP ND (-1% ± 7%); thus, a short scan is sufficient for accurate quantification of 11 C-UCB-J-specific binding., (© 2021 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

Background: Attempts to associate amyloid-β (Aβ) pathogenesis with synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have thus far been limited to small numbers of postmortem studies. Aβ plaque burden is not well-correlated with indices of clinical severity or neurodegeneration-at least in the dementia stage-as deposition of Aβ reaches a ceiling. In this study, we examined in vivo the association between fibrillar Aβ deposition and synaptic density in early AD using positron emission tomography (PET). We hypothesized that global Aβ deposition would be more strongly inversely associated with hippocampal synaptic density in participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; a stage of continued Aβ accumulation) compared to those with dementia (a stage of relative Aβ plateau)., Methods: We measured SV2A binding ([ 11 C]UCB-J) and Aβ deposition ([ 11 C]PiB) in 14 participants with aMCI due to AD and 24 participants with mild AD dementia. Distribution volume ratios (DVR) with a cerebellar reference region were calculated for both tracers to investigate the association between global Aβ deposition and SV2A binding in hippocampus. Exploratory analyses examined correlations between both global and regional Aβ deposition and SV2A binding across a broad range of brain regions using both ROI- and surface-based approaches., Results: We observed a significant inverse association between global Aβ deposition and hippocampal SV2A binding in participants with aMCI (r = - 0.55, P = 0.04), but not mild dementia (r = 0.05, P = 0.82; difference statistically significant by Fisher z = - 1.80, P = 0.04). Exploratory analyses across other ROIs and whole brain analyses demonstrated no broad or consistent associations between global Aβ deposition and regional SV2A binding in either diagnostic group. ROI-based analyses of the association between regional Aβ deposition and SV2A binding also revealed no consistent pattern but suggested a "paradoxical" positive association between local Aβ deposition and SV2A binding in the hippocampus., Conclusions: Our findings lend support to a model in which fibrillar Aβ is still accumulating in the early stages of clinical disease but approaching a relative plateau, a point at which Aβ may uncouple from neurodegenerative processes including synaptic loss. Future research should investigate the relationship between Aβ deposition and synaptic loss in larger cohorts beginning preclinically and followed longitudinally in conjunction with other biomarkers.

Background: Arterial blood sampling is the gold standard method to obtain the arterial input function (AIF) for quantification of whole body (WB) dynamic 18 F-FDG PET imaging. However, this procedure is invasive and not typically available in clinical environments. As an alternative, we compared AIFs to population-based input functions (PBIFs) using two normalization methods: area under the curve (AUC) and extrapolated initial plasma concentration (C P *(0)). To scale the PBIFs, we tested two methods: (1) the AUC of the image-derived input function (IDIF) and (2) the estimated C P *(0). The aim of this study was to validate IDIF and PBIF for FDG oncological WB PET studies by comparing to the gold standard arterial blood sampling., Methods: The Feng 18 F-FDG plasma concentration model was applied to estimate AIF parameters (n = 23). AIF normalization used either AUC(0-60 min) or C P *(0), estimated from an exponential fit. C P *(0) is also described as the ratio of the injected dose (ID) to initial distribution volume (iDV). iDV was modeled using the subject height and weight, with coefficients that were estimated in 23 subjects. In 12 oncological patients, we computed IDIF (from the aorta) and PBIFs with scaling by the AUC of the IDIF from 4 time windows (15-45, 30-60, 45-75, 60-90 min) (PBIF AUC ) and estimated C P *(0) (PBIF iDV ). The IDIF and PBIFs were compared with the gold standard AIF, using AUC values and Patlak K i values., Results: The IDIF underestimated the AIF at early times and overestimated it at later times. Thus, based on the AUC and K i comparison, 30-60 min was the most accurate time window for PBIF AUC ; later time windows for scaling underestimated K i (- 6 ± 8 to - 13 ± 9%). Correlations of AUC between AIF and IDIF, PBIF AUC(30-60) , and PBIF iDV were 0.91, 0.94, and 0.90, respectively. The bias of K i was - 9 ± 10%, - 1 ± 8%, and 3 ± 9%, respectively., Conclusions: Both PBIF scaling methods provided good mean performance with moderate variation. Improved performance can be obtained by refining IDIF methods and by evaluating PBIFs with test-retest data.