Ace Therapeutics specializes in services related to biomarker discovery associated with psychiatric disorders. Our team has over 10 years of experience in supporting our clients in anti-psychiatric drug discovery and development. We continue to develop our methods and services to provide imaging services for brain glucose metabolism to clients worldwide.

Introduction of Imaging of Cerebral Glucose Metabolism

Absolute quantification of brain glucose utilization is a more complex process that can provide a fully quantitative estimate of the brain glucose metabolic rate (CMRGlc). Brain imaging of glucose metabolism plays a key role in describing the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and schizophrenia, respectively. For example, there is a positive correlation between anxiety levels and local glucose metabolism. Many biomarkers have been developed in recent years to study abnormalities in molecular substrates, to track the time course of disease progression, and to assess the efficacy of novel experimental therapies.

Fig. 1 ¹⁸F-FDG-PET in Tg4-42 mice. (Bouter C, et al., 2019)

Imaging Services of Cerebral Glucose Metabolism

Ace Therapeutics measures glucose utilization as a function of neurogenic activity by the ¹⁸F-FDG radiographic autoradiography method. The assay can be used to identify brain regions activated by specific drugs and therefore can be used as an alternative to functional MRI. We can detect changes in glucose metabolism in the early stages of psychiatric disorders, as neuronal dysfunction precedes neuronal loss. We can provide high resolution images and allow absolute quantification of the local concentration of tracer radioactivity in the brain. With rCMRglc brain imaging, we are committed to providing you with landmark biomarkers associated with psychiatric disorders by using region of interest (ROI) analysis or voxel-based brain mapping to characterize pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical correlates throughout the brain.

Our Approach

Prior to each 18F-FDG scan, mice were fasted and placed on a temperature-controlled heating pad for 90 minutes and then anesthetized. CT transmission scans were acquired for attenuation correction for the PET scans to obtain anatomical reference images. Intravenous bolus injection of ¹⁸F-FDG and dynamic three-dimensional PET list mode scans were performed in tandem. The PET list mode data were reconstructed using a two-dimensionally filtered back projection algorithm and Fourier-rebinned into two-dimensional sinograms. The mice recovered after each PET scan for 1 h on the heating pad inside their own cage, and their health was monitored by the researcher.

What Can We Help You Achieve in Psychiatry?

• Identifying the neurobiological basis of cognitive dysfunction associated with mental illness
• Investigating impaired motor activation responses after deep brain stimulation treatment
• Uncovering regional abnormalities in presynaptic and postsynaptic markers
• Investigating functional abnormalities associated with psychiatric disorders such as mood and cognition
• Investigating the role of oxidative-antioxidant imbalance and impaired glucose metabolism in schizophrenia
• Identifying metabolic patterns in the brain that are specifically associated with compulsive hoarding syndrome
• Assessing neuronal function

Ace Therapeutics provides high quality imaging services of brain glucose metabolism to support your research in psychiatric disorders. If you are interested in our services, please make an inquiry to learn how we can support you in your project.

References

1. Bouter C, Bouter Y. ¹⁸F-FDG-PET in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease. Front Med (Lausanne). 2019, 6:71.
2. Takkinen JS, et al. Brain energy metabolism and neuroinflammation in ageing APP/PS1-21 mice using longitudinal 18F-FDG and 18F-DPA-714 PET imaging. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2017, 37(8):2870-2882.

.