Head-to-Head Comparison of the Two MAO-B Radioligands, 18F-THK5351 and 11C-L-Deprenyl, to Visualize Astrogliosis in Patients With Neurological Disorders

Three patients with neurological disorders (cerebral infarction, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, and multiple sclerosis) underwent F-18-THK5351 and C-11-L-deprenyl PET on the same day to visualize lesions undergoing astrogliosis by measuring MAO-B activity. BPND map and SUV image with F-18-THK5351 as well as K-i map, K-i/K-1 map and SUV image with C-11-L-deprenyl were created. F-18-THK5351 BPND maps and SUV images clearly identified the lesions undergoing astrogliosis. C-11-L-deprenyl K-i/K-1 maps were close to F-18-THK5351 images, but very noisy. K-i maps and SUV images were likely affected by the effect of blood flow. Hence, F-18-THK5351 is superior to C-11-L-deprenyl for visualizing lesions undergoing astrogliosis.

Automated summary

F-18-THK5351 PET imaging clearly identifies lesions of astrogliosis in patients with neurological disorders, whereas C-11-L-deprenyl images are noisy and less accurate in comparison.