Brief Report
First-in-human imaging and kinetic analysis of vesicular acetylcholine transporter density in the heart using [18F]FEOBV PET

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-020-02323-wGet rights and content

Abstract

In contrast to cardiac sympathetic activity which can be assessed with established PET tracers, there are currently no suitable radioligands to measure cardiac parasympathetic (cholinergic) activity. A radioligand able to measure cardiac cholinergic activity would be an invaluable clinical and research tool since cholinergic dysfunction has been associated with a wide array of pathologies (e.g., chronic heart failure, myocardial infarction, arrythmias). [18F]Fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (FEOBV) is a cholinergic radiotracer that has been extensively validated in the brain. Whether FEOBV PET can be used to assess cholinergic activity in the heart is not known. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the properties of FEOBV for cardiac PET imaging and cholinergic activity mapping. PET data were collected for 40 minutes after injection of 230 ± 50 MBq of FEOBV in four healthy participants (1 female; Age: 37 ± 10; BMI: 25 ± 2). Dynamic LV time activity curves were fitted with Logan graphical, 1-tissue compartment, and 2-tissue compartment models, yielding similar distribution volume estimates for each participant. Our initial data show that FEOBV PET has favorable tracer kinetics for quantification of cholinergic activity and is a promising new method for assessing parasympathetic function in the heart.

Section snippets

New Knowledge Gained

[18F]FEOBV appears to be a viable tracer for the assessment of cholinergic (parasympathetic) activity in the heart using non-invasive PET imaging.

Conclusion

[18F]FEOBV PET is a promising radioligand to assess cholinergic activity in the heart and may become a useful non-invasive method to study cardiac parasympathetic function and improve risk assessment and prognosis in cardiac patients with conditions associated with autonomic imbalance or impaired parasympathetic activity.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the University of Ottawa Medical Research Fund and the Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research Brain Imaging Centre.

Disclosures

Zacharie Saint-Georges, Vanessa Zayed, Katie Dinelle, Clifford Cassidy, Jean-Paul Soucy, Gassan Massarweh, Benjamin Rotstein, Pablo Nery, Synthia Guimond, Robert deKemp, and Lauri Tuominen have nothing to declare.

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