Tau Imaging in the 4-Repeat-Tauopathies Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndrome: A 11C-Pyridinyl-Butadienyl-Benzothiazole 3 PET Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate tau PET using C-pyridinyl-butadienyl-benzothiazole 3 (C-PBB3) in the 4-repeat (4R)-tauopathies progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of C-PBB3 PET in 2, 7, and 2 patients with CBS, PSP, and Alzheimer dementia (AD), respectively. Normalized C-PBB3 uptake in clusters with significant hypometabolism on F-FDG-PET and corresponding atlas-based volumes of interest was compared between diagnostic groups. RESULTS: In accordance with visually appreciable group differences, C-PBB3 uptake was significantly higher in dorsolateral frontal and motor cortex in CBS patients and frontal and temporal cortices in AD patients as compared with PSP patients. Patients with PSP showed mildly but significantly higher uptake in midbrain compared with AD patients. CONCLUSIONS: In line with known neuropathological changes, the spatial pattern and magnitude of C-PBB3 tau binding differ between CBS, PSP, and AD, which may be of diagnostic utility. Thus, C-PBB3 offers a promising lead structure for development of ligands for tau imaging, including 4R-tauopathies.

The low-energy ß(-) and electron emitter (161)Tb as an alternative to (177)Lu for targeted radionuclide therapy.

INTRODUCTION: The low-energy ß(-) emitter (161)Tb is very similar to (177)Lu with respect to half-life, beta energy and chemical properties. However, (161)Tb also emits a significant amount of conversion and Auger electrons. Greater therapeutic effect can therefore be expected in comparison to (177)Lu. It also emits low-energy photons that are useful for gamma camera imaging. METHODS: The (160)Gd(n,γ)(161)Gd→(161)Tb production route was used to produce (161)Tb by neutron irradiation of massive (160)Gd targets (up to 40 mg) in nuclear reactors. A semiautomated procedure based on cation exchange chromatography was developed and applied to isolate no carrier added (n.c.a.) (161)Tb from the bulk of the (160)Gd target and from its stable decay product (161)Dy. (161)Tb was used for radiolabeling DOTA-Tyr3-octreotate; the radiolabeling profile was compared to the commercially available n.c.a. (177)Lu. A (161)Tb Derenzo phantom was imaged using a small-animal single-photon emission computed tomography camera. RESULTS: Up to 15 GBq of (161)Tb was produced by long-term irradiation of Gd targets. Using a cation exchange resin, we obtained 80%-90% of the available (161)Tb with high specific activity, radionuclide and chemical purity and in quantities sufficient for therapeutic applications. The (161)Tb obtained was of the quality required to prepare (161)Tb-DOTA-Tyr3-octreotate. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to produce (161)Tb in n.c.a. form by irradiating highly enriched (160)Gd targets; it can be obtained in the quantity and quality required for the preparation of (161)Tb-labeled therapeutic agents.