title: Molecular imaging of microglial activation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: There is growing evidence of activated microglia and inflammatory processes in the cerebral cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Activated microglia is characterized by increased expression of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) in the brain and may be a useful biomarker of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated neuroinflammation in ALS patients using a radioligand of TSPO, (18)F-DPA-714. Ten patients with probable or definite ALS (all right-handed, without dementia, and untreated by riluzole or other medication that might bias the binding on the TSPO), were enrolled prospectively and eight healthy controls matched for age underwent a PET study. Comparison of the distribution volume ratios between both groups were performed using a Mann-Whitney's test. Significant increase of distribution of volume ratios values corresponding to microglial activation was found in the ALS sample in primary motor, supplementary motor and temporal cortex (p = 0.009, p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). These results suggested that the cortical uptake of (18)F-DPA-714 was increased in ALS patients during the "time of diagnosis" phase of the disease. This finding might improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ALS and might be a surrogate marker of efficacy of treatment on microglial activation.
authors.affiliation: ALS Center, Department of Neurology, CHRU Bretonneau, Tours, France. corcia@med.univ-tours.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Corcia
authors.forename: Clovis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tauber
authors.forename: Johnnie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vercoullie
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arlicot
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prunier
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Praline
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Venel
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hommet
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Baulieu
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cottier
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roussel
authors.forename: Mickael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kassiou
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guilloteau
authors.forename: Maria-Joao
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D059906:Neuroimaging; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018079:Receptors, GABA; C499229:TSPO protein, human