Diagnostic performance of ultrasound hepatorenal index for the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in children.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing in prevalence and is the most common cause of pediatric chronic liver disease. Objective US-based measures of hepatic steatosis are an unmet clinical need.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative measurement of liver echogenicity (hepatorenal index, or HRI) for hepatic steatosis in a pediatric cohort.

First-in-human evaluation of [C]PS13, a novel PET radioligand, to quantify cyclooxygenase-1 in the brain.

Purpose: This study assessed whether the newly developed PET radioligand [C]PS13, which has shown excellent in vivo selectivity in previous animal studies, could be used to quantify constitutive levels of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) in healthy human brain.

Methods: Brain test-retest scans with concurrent arterial blood samples were obtained in 10 healthy individuals. The one- and unconstrained two-tissue compartment models, as well as the Logan graphical analysis were compared, and test-retest reliability and time-stability of total distribution volume (V) were assessed.

Evaluation of C-NR2B-SMe and Its Enantiomers as PET Radioligands for Imaging the NR2B Subunit Within the NMDA Receptor Complex in Rats.

[--C](±)-7-methoxy-3-(4-(4-(methylthio)phenyl)butyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1-benzo[]azepin-1-ol (C-NR2B-SMe) and its enantiomers were synthesized as candidates for imaging the NR2B subunit within the -methyl-d-aspartate receptor with PET. Brains were scanned with PET for 90 min after intravenous injection of one of the candidate radioligands into rats. To detect any NR2B-specific binding of radioligand in brain, various preblocking or displacing agents were evaluated for their impact on the PET brain imaging data.

Synthesis and evaluation of two new candidate high-affinity full agonist PET radioligands for imaging 5-HT receptors.

Introduction: The serotonin 1B receptor subtype is of interest in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression, anxiety, and migraine. Over recent years 5-HT receptor binding in human brain has been examined with PET using radioligands that are partial but not full agonists. To explore how the intrinsic activity of a PET radioligand may affect imaging performance, two high-affinity full 5-HT receptor agonists (AZ11136118, 4; and AZ11895987, 5) were selected from a large compound library and radiolabeled for PET examination in non-human primates.

Single Quantum Dot Tracking Illuminates Neuroscience at the Nanoscale.

The use of nanometer-sized semiconductor crystals, known as quantum dots, allows us to directly observe individual biomolecular transactions through a fluorescence microscope. Here, we review the evolution of single quantum dot tracking over the past two decades, highlight key biophysical discoveries facilitated by quantum dots, briefly discuss biochemical and optical implementation strategies for a single quantum dot tracking experiment, and report recent accomplishments of our group at the interface of molecular neuroscience and nanoscience.

Evaluation of a PET Radioligand to Image -GlcNAcase in Brain and Periphery of Rhesus Monkey and Knock-Out Mouse.

Accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau, a microtubule-associated protein, plays an important role in the progression of Alzheimer disease. Animal studies suggest that one strategy for treating Alzheimer disease and related tauopathies may be inhibition of -GlcNAcase (OGA), which may subsequently decrease pathologic tau phosphorylation. Here, we report the pharmacokinetics of a novel PET radioligand, F-LSN3316612, which binds with high affinity and selectivity to OGA.

Assessing the inter-observer variability of Computer-Aided Nodule Assessment and Risk Yield (CANARY) to characterize lung adenocarcinomas.

Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), the most common lung cancer type, is recognized increasingly as a disease spectrum. To guide individualized patient care, a non-invasive means of distinguishing indolent from aggressive ADC subtypes is needed urgently. Computer-Aided Nodule Assessment and Risk Yield (CANARY) is a novel computed tomography (CT) tool that characterizes early ADCs by detecting nine distinct CT voxel classes, representing a spectrum of lepidic to invasive growth, within an ADC.