- Neuropsychiatric diseases, for HD mutation carriers: neuropsychiatric diseases other than HD
- Major internal medical diseases
- White matter lesion load on FLAIR Fazekas score 2 or higher or other relevant MRI abnormalities
- History of alcohol abuse or current alcohol abuse (chronic use of more than 15 units per week) or drug use
- Contraindications for MR
- Subject suffers from claustrophobia or cannot tolerate confinement during PET-MRI scanning procedures; subject cannot lie still for 30 minutes inside the scanner.
- Subject is unwilling to avoid unusual, unaccustomed, or strenuous physical activity (i.e., weightlifting, running, bicycling) from the time of the pre-study visit until the end of scanning.
- Subject does not understand the study procedures or does not have a guardian who understands the study procedures.
- Subject (or guardian) is unwilling or unable to perform all of the study procedures or is considered unsuitable in any way by the principal investigator.
- Subject is on anticoagulant therapy.
- Subject is pregnant (according to Ulti Med hCG urine test) or breastfeeding.
- Subject is a woman of childbearing potential who does not agree to apply appropriate contraception methods during study participation and continues to do so for at least 6 months after study completion.
- Subject is a man with a pregnant or non-pregnant WOCBP partner, who does not agree to use a condom and continue to do so until 90 days after study completion. In addition, the non-pregnant WOCBP partner should use a highly effective method of contraception.
Comparison Between [11C]UCB-J and [18F]SynVest-1 PET in HD.
Recruiting
Don’t let the title of this study scare you.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a special type of brain scan that helps doctors see how the brain is working in real-time. It’s really helpful for studying diseases HD, as it can show changes in the brain related to things like nerve cell activity, blood flow, and brain metabolism.
In the case of HD, researchers have developed a special PET scan that focuses on a protein called SV2A. This protein is found in nerve cells throughout the brain and is important for how brain cells communicate. The first studies using a PET scan with a substance called [11C]UCB-J showed that people with HD have less of this protein in key areas of the brain, like the striatum , and that the loss of this protein is linked to motor problems like difficulty moving.
However, the downside of using [11C]UCB-J is that it has a very short lifespan (it only lasts 20 minutes), which makes it hard to use in regular hospitals or clinics. So, scientists have been working on a new version of the scan that lasts longer, called [18F]SynVesT-1. This version has similar properties and works in a similar way, but it has been tested mostly in animals so far.
Preliminary animal studies have shown that [18F]SynVesT-1 doesn’t perform as well in mice with HD, showing more variability and weaker results compared to [11C]UCB-J. This new study aims to see if [18F]SynVesT-1 works just as well in premanifest and manifeste HD
This an open label.
Phase: not applicable
Subtype: Interventional Biomarker
Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
Primary Intervention: brain functional MRI
Ages Eligible
for Study:
18 – 75 years old
Sexes Eligible
for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
- Healthy controls
- Subject is judged to be in good health by the investigator on the basis of medical history, physical examination including vital signs, clinical laboratory test and urinalysis.
- No history or evidence of current major neurological, internal or psychiatric disorder, based on the medical assessment as described hereabove and neuropsychological assessment.
- In subjects < 60 years of age, an unremarkable structural MRI scan as assessed by expert radiologist. In subjects >= 60 years of age white matter hyperintensities corresponding to a white matter lesion (WML) Fazekas score < 2 on the Age-Related White Matter changes scale are acceptable.
- HD mutation carriers
- CAG repeat expansion in HTT ≥ 40.* For premanifest HD mutation carriers (n = 10):
- No clinical diagnostic motor features of HD, defined as Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Diagnostic Confidence Score < 4.* For early manifest HD patients (n = 10):
- Clinical diagnostic motor features of HD, defined as UHDRS Diagnostic Confidence Score = 4.
- Shoulson-Fahn stage 1-2
