Publications by authors named "L Nics"
Purpose: Multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) have a widespread tissue distribution. They play an important role in drug disposition and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and have been associated with various diseases. PET with 6-bromo-7-[C]methylpurine ([C]BMP) has been used to assess MRP1 function in the brain and lungs of mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an efflux transporter which is abundantly expressed at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and which has been implicated in the pathophysiology of various brain diseases. The radiolabelled antiemetic drug [C]metoclopramide is a P-gp substrate for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of P-gp function at the BBB. To assess whether [C]metoclopramide can detect increased P-gp function in the human brain, we employed drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) as a model disease with a well characterised, regional P-gp up-regulation at the BBB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerotonin (5-HT) plays an essential role in reward processing, however, the possibilities to investigate 5-HT action in humans during emotional stimulation are particularly limited. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of assessing reward-specific dynamics in 5-HT synthesis using functional PET (fPET), combining its molecular specificity with the high temporal resolution of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI. Sixteen healthy volunteers underwent simultaneous fPET/fMRI with the radioligand [C]AMT, a substrate for tryptophan hydroxylase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- There’s a theory that suggests schizophrenia symptoms might get better with medicine that blocks certain dopamine receptors, but not everyone gets better.
- Researchers studied 21 people who were just diagnosed with schizophrenia and hadn’t taken medication before to see how dopamine release affected their symptoms over a year.
- They found that certain areas of the brain releasing more dopamine were linked to improvements in symptoms, helping to understand why some patients respond better to treatment than others.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the function of the multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) in humans using a PET imaging approach with a radioactive tracer called [C]BMP, previously tested in rodents.
- Thirteen healthy volunteers underwent whole-body PET scans, and specific brain and organ tissues were analyzed to measure the elimination rate constant (k) for MRP function, with test-retest variability calculated to assess reliability.
- Results indicated notable differences in MRP function across various tissues and between sexes, suggesting that this imaging technique could be valuable for understanding MRP function in health and disease.