Initial human PET imaging studies with the dopamine transporter ligand 18F-FECNT.

Abstract

These results indicate that (18)F-FECNT is an excellent candidate radioligand for in vivo imaging of the DAT system in humans. It has a much higher affinity for DAT than for the serotonin transporter and yields the highest peak striatum-to-cerebellum ratios and has among the most favorable kinetics of (18)F-radiolabeled DAT ligands. Having picked up presymptomatic changes in the hemisphere opposite the unaffected side of the body in our early-stage (unilateral) PD patients, it appears that, like other DAT radioligands, it may be able to identify presymptomatic PD.