UCLA researchers in the Department of Neurology have synthesized a novel radiotracer that selectively identifies functional synapses for monitoring of synaptic loss in Alzheimer’s patients.
BACKGROUND:
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed. It affects more than 17 million worldwide and has an over $6 billion market for its diagnostics and therapeutics. It is difficult for new AD therapeutics to reach the market due to late stage of intervention and the absence of a sensitive, non-invasive approach to quantify treatment efficacy. It is difficult to optimize drug dose for patients when measuring pathology-related biomarkers and remain a challenge.
INNOVATION:
Researchers have synthesized a new radiotracer, 18F-labeled DDL-6003, that can be imaged using positron emission tomography (PET) to monitor the efficacy of AD therapeutics on synaptic loss, a major hallmark of AD. This radiotracer binds very tightly and selectively to depolarized calcium channels during functional synapses. This binding is not nearly as strong during non-functional synapses when the calcium channels are polarized. This is a breakthrough advantage compared to existing synaptic imaging radiotracers, which cannot distinguish between functional and non-functional synapses. Therefore, in vivo monitoring of synaptic loss using PET imaging and 18F-labeled DDL-6003 is a sensitive, non-invasive approach to AD diagnostics and treatment planning.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
• Monitoring synaptic loss for Alzheimer’s diagnostics and treatments
• Monitoring synaptic activities for pathologic processes ranging from paraneoplastic disease to neurologic injury secondary to cerebral ischemia
ADVANTAGES:
• Sensitive
• Specific, can distinguish between functional and non-functional synapses
• Easy to synthesize