Non-human primate SPECT model for determining cerebral perfusion effects of cerebrovasoactive drugs acting via multiple modes of pharmacological action.

Increasing clinical and experimental evidence implicate cerebral hypoperfusion during increased ageing and points to chronic cerebrovascular ischemia as a vital component of the neuropathological progression of dementia. In vivo cerebral perfusion animal models can greatly contribute to the evaluation of drugs and to the screening of drug interactions. This study describes a baboon Papio ursinus model under anaesthesia, for in vivo cerebral blood flow (CBF) determinations, using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) following the split-dose method with 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO).