New tau PET tracer a powerful diagnostic tool for rare, fatal brain disease
A newly developed positron emission tomography tracer known as 18F-PI-2620 is a useful biomarker for detecting progressive supranuclear palsy, a currently untreatable and deadly brain disease.
Nuclear medicine physicians and neurologists from Munich and Leipzig, Germany, led the observational study of 60 patients with the rare condition, published July 7 in JAMA Neurology. They found the “first evidence” that a radiotracer could help earlier and more reliably diagnose PSP, and potentially, other neurodegenerative disorders.
It should go a long way toward helping the 18 out of every 100,000 people inflicted with the brain disease, which can cause serious problems with walking, balance and eye movement. The condition is hard to diagnose and often leads to life-threatening complications, said Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune SA, a Swiss molecular imaging firm that co-developed the radiotracer.
“Highly specific PET tracers are a critical tool in the patient pathway to achieve an accurate diagnosis, a particular challenge in the complex spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders and often not achievable through clinical presentation alone,” Pfeifer, who is not listed on the study, added in a statement Tuesday. “Such capabilities would enable early, targeted therapeutic interventions for PSP patients and enhance the research community’s ability to better advance more effective treatments and cures.”
The cross-sectional study included 10 healthy controls and 20 with a disease—such as Parkinson’s—in addition to the 60 patients with PSP. Across five different centers, PI-2620 showed “excellent” discrimination between controls and those with the brain condition. The tracer accurately revealed the accumulation of 4-repeat Tau protein deposits in distinct brain regions, a “pathological hallmark” of PSP, the authors noted.
A number of clinical studies are already underway testing the tracer’s ability to detect tau in further patients. Co-author and Chief Medical Officer at Life Molecular Imaging Andrew Stephens, MD, PhD, believes the agent will prove successful.
“This large multi-center study demonstrates the power of PI-2620 as a biomarker to study 4R tau-related diseases like PSP,” Stephens, whose company also co-founded the tracer, added. “The detection and monitoring of the underlying tau pathology with PI-2620 for both 4R-tauopathies like PSP… as well as 3R/4R tauopathies like Alzheimer’s disease will advance the field, leading to appropriate patient selection and monitoring target engagement in clinical trials of emerging therapeutic agents.”
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.