Finding new therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer's is the aim of the FFG-funded PET-ABC project at MedUni Vienna. The team led by Oliver Langer has now introduced the new PET tracer 6-bromo-7-[<sup>11C</sup>]methylpurine into humans for the first time. This tracer will make it possible to investigate whether the activity of the anion efflux transport system differs in Alzheimer's patients from healthy people. This may play a role in the elimination of beta-amyloid from the brain - a protein that is frequently found in Alzheimer's patients as a deposit in the brain.
The brand new Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT scanner was used for the PET measurements at the Clinical Department of Nuclear Medicine. This scanner enables dynamic whole-body measurements in humans (axial PET field of view: 106 cm) and is therefore excellently suited for measuring transporter activity not only in the brain but also in other organs (e.g. lungs, myocardium, kidneys).
The project is funded by the FFG (PET-ABC, project number: 882717).