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Synaptic PET Imaging in Neurodegeneration

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Molecular Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disorders

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Abstract

Synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) is an integral glycoprotein in synaptic vesicle membranes and has been investigated as a potential positron emission tomography (PET) biomarker of synaptic density. Regional brain SV2A levels correlate with synaptophysin, a commonly used marker of synapse density, providing the basis for the broad utility of SV2A-PET imaging in neurological diseases. In this chapter, we focus on the human SV2A-PET imaging results for multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease has progressed most rapidly across multiple centers, with largely consistent results for SV2A/synaptic loss patterns. In AD, synaptic loss patterns differ from amyloid, tau, and FDG, although inter-tracer and interregional correlations have been observed. Other diseases including dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration have also been reported. In summary, initial PET studies across indications suggest that the regional pattern of SV2A loss may be specific to disease-associated brain regions and is consistent with loss of synaptic density. Future studies in larger patient cohorts are needed to determine the clinical value of SV2A-PET.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Ming-Kai Chen, David Matuskey & Richard E. Carson

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    David Matuskey

  3. Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    David Matuskey

  4. Neuroscience Discovery Research, Translational Imaging, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL, USA

    Sjoerd J. Finnema

  5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Richard E. Carson

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  1. Ming-Kai Chen
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  2. David Matuskey
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  3. Sjoerd J. Finnema
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  4. Richard E. Carson
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Correspondence to Ming-Kai Chen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Donna J. Cross

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital das Forças Armadas (HFA), Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Karina Mosci

  3. Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Satoshi Minoshima

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Chen, MK., Matuskey, D., Finnema, S.J., Carson, R.E. (2023). Synaptic PET Imaging in Neurodegeneration. In: Cross, D.J., Mosci, K., Minoshima, S. (eds) Molecular Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35098-6_10

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