European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging
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Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imaging · Mar 2005
Quantitation of dopamine transporter blockade by methylphenidate: first in vivo investigation using [123I]FP-CIT and a dedicated small animal SPECT.
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of assessing dopamine transporter binding after treatment with methylphenidate in the rat using a recently developed high-resolution small animal single-photon emission computed tomograph (TierSPECT) and [123I]FP-CIT. ⋯ The results can be interpreted in terms of a pharmacological blockade in the rat striatum and show that in vivo quantitation of dopamine transporter binding is feasible with [123I]FP-CIT and the TierSPECT. This may be of future relevance for in vivo investigations on rat models of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Furthermore, our findings suggest that investigations in other animal models, e.g. of Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, may be feasible using SPECT radioligands and small animal imaging systems.