Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. Despite decades of therapeutic development, only two modestly efficacious disease-modifying drugs—riluzole and edaravone—are available to ALS patients. Biomarkers that can facilitate ALS diagnos...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00135/full |
| _version_ | 1828407625625108480 |
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| author | Sheena Chew Nazem Atassi |
| author_facet | Sheena Chew Nazem Atassi |
| author_sort | Sheena Chew |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. Despite decades of therapeutic development, only two modestly efficacious disease-modifying drugs—riluzole and edaravone—are available to ALS patients. Biomarkers that can facilitate ALS diagnosis, aid in prognosis, and measure drug pharmacodynamics are needed to accelerate therapeutic development for patients with ALS. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has promise as a biomarker for ALS because it permits visualization of central nervous system (CNS) pathology in individuals living with ALS. The availability of PET radioligands that target a variety of potential pathophysiological mechanisms—including cerebral metabolism, neuroinflammation, neuronal dysfunction, and oxidative stress—has enabled dynamic interrogation of molecular changes in ALS, in both natural history studies and human clinical trials. PET imaging has potential as a diagnostic biomarker that can establish upper motor neuron (UMN) pathology in ALS patients without overt UMN symptoms, as a prognostic biomarker that might help stratify patients for clinical trials, and as a pharmacodynamic biomarker that measures the biological effect of investigational drugs in the brain and spinal cord. In this Review, we discuss progress made with 30 years of PET imaging studies in ALS and consider future research needed to establish PET imaging biomarkers for ALS therapeutic development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:27:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f4617a2df9e8429b8929e5c7a0b22ac1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:27:15Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f4617a2df9e8429b8929e5c7a0b22ac12022-12-22T01:50:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952019-03-011010.3389/fneur.2019.00135444529Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisSheena ChewNazem AtassiAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. Despite decades of therapeutic development, only two modestly efficacious disease-modifying drugs—riluzole and edaravone—are available to ALS patients. Biomarkers that can facilitate ALS diagnosis, aid in prognosis, and measure drug pharmacodynamics are needed to accelerate therapeutic development for patients with ALS. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has promise as a biomarker for ALS because it permits visualization of central nervous system (CNS) pathology in individuals living with ALS. The availability of PET radioligands that target a variety of potential pathophysiological mechanisms—including cerebral metabolism, neuroinflammation, neuronal dysfunction, and oxidative stress—has enabled dynamic interrogation of molecular changes in ALS, in both natural history studies and human clinical trials. PET imaging has potential as a diagnostic biomarker that can establish upper motor neuron (UMN) pathology in ALS patients without overt UMN symptoms, as a prognostic biomarker that might help stratify patients for clinical trials, and as a pharmacodynamic biomarker that measures the biological effect of investigational drugs in the brain and spinal cord. In this Review, we discuss progress made with 30 years of PET imaging studies in ALS and consider future research needed to establish PET imaging biomarkers for ALS therapeutic development.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00135/fullamyotrophic lateral sclerosisneuroimagingpositron emission tomographybiomarkerdiagnostic biomarkerpharmacodynamic biomarker |
| spellingShingle | Sheena Chew Nazem Atassi Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Frontiers in Neurology amyotrophic lateral sclerosis neuroimaging positron emission tomography biomarker diagnostic biomarker pharmacodynamic biomarker |
| title | Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
| title_full | Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
| title_fullStr | Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
| title_short | Positron Emission Tomography Molecular Imaging Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
| title_sort | positron emission tomography molecular imaging biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis |
| topic | amyotrophic lateral sclerosis neuroimaging positron emission tomography biomarker diagnostic biomarker pharmacodynamic biomarker |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00135/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sheenachew positronemissiontomographymolecularimagingbiomarkersforamyotrophiclateralsclerosis AT nazematassi positronemissiontomographymolecularimagingbiomarkersforamyotrophiclateralsclerosis |