Title: Development of SV2A PET Tracers for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Zhengxin Cai, Yale University School of Medicine 

Time: June 5th | Wednesday |10:00 am-12:00 pm

Venue: C406, BLDG 24

Host:  Prof. Yunfei Du

Abstract: 

PET imaging of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles has expanded our understanding of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in recent years, by allowing us to identify pathological biomarkers of AD in living subjects. Because early identification of AD may lead to more effective interventions, Dr. Cai’s lab is developing PET tracers that can provide a noninvasive, reliable, and sensitive method for quantifying synaptic loss, hopefully allowing for the detection of AD at its early stage and for monitoring the efficacy of disease-modifying interventions. Synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) is ubiquitously expressed in all synapses and is a biomarker for synapse. The 18F-labeled PET imaging probe will allow for multicenter clinical trials to test their hypothesis.