Abstract
Emission tomography techniques and, in particular, positron emission tomography (PET) enable the in vivo study of several physiological and neurochemical variables in human subjects using methods originally developed for quantitative autoradiography. In particular, PET allows one to evaluate in human subjects: (a) the effect of specific neurochemical challenges on regional brain function at rest or under activation; (b) the activity of neurotransmitters and the regional expression of specific molecular targets during pathology including their modulation by drug treatment; (c) the kinetics of drug disposition and activity directly in the target organ. This is of primary interest in the field of biological psychiatry and in psychoactive drugs development, where it is particularly difficult to reproduce human diseases using animal models in view of the peculiarity of this field and the large heterogeneity of each psychiatric illness also inside the same clinical definition. The aim of this paper is to review the principal strategies and the main results of the use of PET or single photon emission tomography (SPET) molecular imaging for the in vivo study of serotonin receptors and the main results obtained from their application in the study of major depression.
Keywords: SEROTONIN RADIOLIGAND, psychiatric disorders, SERT binding sites, Fluvoxamine, paroxetine, depression
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title: PET and SPET Molecular Imaging: Focus on Serotonin System
Volume: 6 Issue: 18
Author(s): Rosa Maria Moresco, Mario Matarrese and Ferruccio Fazio
Affiliation:
Keywords: SEROTONIN RADIOLIGAND, psychiatric disorders, SERT binding sites, Fluvoxamine, paroxetine, depression
Abstract: Emission tomography techniques and, in particular, positron emission tomography (PET) enable the in vivo study of several physiological and neurochemical variables in human subjects using methods originally developed for quantitative autoradiography. In particular, PET allows one to evaluate in human subjects: (a) the effect of specific neurochemical challenges on regional brain function at rest or under activation; (b) the activity of neurotransmitters and the regional expression of specific molecular targets during pathology including their modulation by drug treatment; (c) the kinetics of drug disposition and activity directly in the target organ. This is of primary interest in the field of biological psychiatry and in psychoactive drugs development, where it is particularly difficult to reproduce human diseases using animal models in view of the peculiarity of this field and the large heterogeneity of each psychiatric illness also inside the same clinical definition. The aim of this paper is to review the principal strategies and the main results of the use of PET or single photon emission tomography (SPET) molecular imaging for the in vivo study of serotonin receptors and the main results obtained from their application in the study of major depression.
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Moresco Rosa Maria, Matarrese Mario and Fazio Ferruccio, PET and SPET Molecular Imaging: Focus on Serotonin System, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2006; 6 (18) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156802606778522140
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156802606778522140 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
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