The quest for Eldorado: Development of radioligands for in vivo imaging of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in human brain

Abstract

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), ubiquitously distributed in the human brain, are implicated in various neurophysiological processes and in the pathophysiology and/or treatment strategies of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, as well as being particularly affected in tobacco dependence/withdrawal. In the past two decades, researchers have developed an extensive series of radioligands for the assessment of nAChRs in vivo through emission tomography, PET and SPECT. Several radioligands, derivatives of A-85380: 2-[(18)F]FA, 6-[(18)F]FA and 5-[(123)I]IA, are now being employed for the evaluation of nACh..