Discovery of PET Tracers for Measuring Alpha-synuclein

Study Rationale: The discovery of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been slowed by the amount of time (years) it takes to determine whether a drug was effective in a clinical trial. New tests that can inform doctors that a new treatment is working would speed the discovery of new medicines for PD. The studies described in this project aim to develop a new imaging test that will allow measurement of toxic clumps of alpha-synuclein protein, a defining marker of PD, in the brains of living patients. 

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that development of tracers capable of imaging alpha-synuclein protein in an individual’s brain will provide a new test for PD that will allow doctors to determine if new drugs are working by measuring changes in alpha-synuclein accumulation.

Study Design: First, we plan to conduct clinical studies in PD patients with a new molecule discovered in our previous MJFF project. We hope this molecule will demonstrate, for the first time, the ability to image alpha-synuclein pathology in people with PD. Second, we plan to improve on this molecule to create an alpha-synuclein imaging agent optimized to be useful in clinical studies of drugs to cure PD.

Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease: If successful, our alpha-synuclein imaging agent can help determine more quickly and confidently whether a new treatment is successful in people with PD. It will also improve doctors’ understanding of the disease by relating an individual’s symptoms and disease progression to changes in alpha-synuclein.

Next Steps for Development: If approved, the project will spend approximately one year testing our proof-of-concept molecule in formulation, safety and human imaging experiments as well as optimizing our current series of compounds.   

Trial Phase: Preclinical / Clinical