Evaluation of Frontotemporal dementia using PET ligand [18F]APN-1607
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of the anatomical profile and longitudinal change of tau neurofibrillary tangles in frontotemporal dementia using the tau PET ligand [18F]APN-1607.
IRAS ID
322705
Contact name
Eugenii Rabiner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imanova Limited trading as Invicro
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 2 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease is characterized by the deposition of Tau. For example in patients with Microtubule Associated Protein Tau mutations.
Evaluation of the regional patterns of tau deposition and change in those patterns with clinical progression have not yet been well defined. Understanding of these patterns will serve to better define the pathogenesis of this disease and provide a potential biomarker for the development of therapeutic treatments. [18F]APN-1607 is a tau-targeting radiotracer that has been developed to assess tau deposition over time.
We will assess tau deposition using [18F]APN-1607 PET (Positron Emission Tomography) in patients with fFTD-MAPT and compare it to healthy individuals and FTD patients without the MAPT mutation.Eligible FTD patients, will receive 2 PET-CT(Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography) scans and 2 MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans at Invicro, at 12 months interval. Healthy individuals will receive one PET-CT and one MRI. The total protocol dose is 9.6 mSv. The study participants will be exposed to a maximum of 9.6 mSv of additional ionising radiation, equivalent to 4.4 years of average natural background radiation in the UK.
The brain data obtained in patients will be compared to that of healthy volunteers of comparable age and sex.
Summary of Results
This study looked at whether a type of brain scan, called a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan, can detect harmful protein build up in people with inherited frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Six volunteers took part: two were healthy, two had FTD caused by changes in the MAPT gene, and two had other genetic types of FTD. The study focused on a protein called tau, which is thought to build up in MAPT-related FTD.
The scans were completed successfully, but the results did not show clear differences between people with MAPT-related FTD and healthy volunteers. People with other forms of FTD – who are not expected to have tau in their brains – showed very slightly higher signals in some brain areas. This suggests the scan may not be able to detect the type of tau linked to MAPT-related FTD.
More research with different types of scans and a larger group is needed to understand these results and what they mean for diagnosing and studying FTD.REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EE/0058
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion