Korean J Nucl Med.
2004 Apr;38(2):161-170.
PET-Based Molecular Nuclear Neuro-Imaging
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Nuclear Medicine, Ahmanson Biological Imaging Center, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6942, USA. jhokim@mednet.ucla.edu
Abstract
- Molecular Nuclear Neuro - Imaging in "CNS" drug discovery and development can be divided into four categories that are clearly inter-related. (1) Neuroreceptor mapping to examine the involvement of specific neurotransmitter system in CNS diseases, drug occupancy characteristics and perhaps examine mechanisms of action; (2) Structural and spectroscopic imaging to examine morphological changes and their consequences; (3) Metabolic mapping to provide evidence of central activity and "CNS fingerprinting" the neuroanatomy of drug effects; (4) Functional mapping to examine disease-drug interactions. In addition, targeted delivery of therapeutic agents could be achieved by modifying stem cells to release specific drugs at the site of transplantation ('stem cell pharmacology'). Future exploitation of stem cell biology, including enhanced release of therapeutic factors through genetic stem cell engineering, might thus constitute promising pharmaceutical approaches to treating diseases of the nervous system. With continued improvements in instrumentation, identification of better imaging probes by innovative chemistry, molecular nuclear neuro-imaging promise to play increasingly important roles in disease diagnosis and therapy.
