PET analyses of ABC transporter function for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
The aim of the project is the development and application of radiotracers for positron emission tomography (PET) to measure the activity of adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) in the brain. The aim is to explain their role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and to stratify patients for treatment with transporter-modulating drugs.
As part of the project carried out at the Medical University of Vienna, we will be using a new PET radiotracer in humans for the first time, which makes it possible to measure the activity of a transporter called multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1). It is being discussed that this transporter is involved in the clearance of neurotoxic beta-amyloid peptides from the brain into the blood and could represent a new target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Our activities will include PET scans in young and elderly healthy volunteers and in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with the Department of Nuclear Medicine of the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy.
Project team in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology (in alphabetical order): Martin Bauer (clinical PI), Oliver Langer (project PI), Irene Hernández-Lozano, Severin Mairinger, Maria Weber, Michael Wölfl-Duchek.
‘With this method, we are on the trail of a new type of Alzheimer's therapy.’