title: Cholinergic activity of aged rhesus monkeys revealed by positron emission tomography.
abstract: In the present study, the radiotracer [(18)F] (+)-4-fluorobenzyltrozamicol ((+)-[(18)F]FBT) and positron emission tomography (PET) were used to examine the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and determine if presynaptic cholinergic activity was altered with age in 23 rhesus monkeys that varied in age from 10 to 37 years. Binding of (+)-[(18)F]FBT in the basal ganglia was reduced significantly with increasing age of the monkeys. However, there were individual differences noted in that some middle-aged and aged monkeys demonstrated levels of (+)-[(18)F]FBT binding that were comparable to the binding measured in adult monkeys. These data indicate that presynaptic cholinergic function may decrease with age, but that there may be a differential susceptibility of the cholinergic system to the aging process in different individuals.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1040, USA. mlvoytko@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Voytko
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Mach
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Gage
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ehrenkaufer
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Efange
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tobin
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D005464:Fluorobenzenes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009467:Neuromuscular Depolarizing Agents / Q000819:agonists; D010880:Piperidines / Q000819:agonists / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D005464:Fluorobenzenes; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009467:Neuromuscular Depolarizing Agents; D010880:Piperidines; D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; C087277:4-fluorobenzyltrozamicol; C006189:vesamicol; D000109:Acetylcholine