Novel diagnostic agent for brain metabolism

Referenznummer TO 21-00011
 

The Challenge 
Changes in activity or metabolism of neurons and glial cells are accompanied by changes in uptake rates and the intra- and extracellular concentrations of a number of cations, e.g. Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Zn2+. In pathologies such as ischemia, tumors, infections or neurodegenerative diseases alterations of the cation equilibrium of the brain are an indicator of disease location and progression already at very early stages, but up to date the diagnostic potential of cation metabolism could not be fully exploited in routine diagnostics because of technical limitations: MRI spectrometry is inadequate for the tracking of most cation changes, and 18F-Deoxyglucose-PET can only be performed in bigger hospitals because of the high costs of the equipment and the short half-life (110 minutes) of the isotope. Single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) on the other hand  can measure gamma emission from isotopes with long half-lives and can easily be used in routine diagnostics outside of hospitals. However, up to date there is no commercially available SPECT tracer for cation metabolism that can cross the blood brain barrier in a reasonable time frame.

Technology

Lipophilic complexes of 201Thallium (e.g. 201Thalium-Diethydithiocaramat) have excellent properties for measuring cation metabolism by means of SPECT: They can pass the intact blood-brain barrier as a complex, but release Tl+ -ions after entering the brain; these ions are retained in the tissue and can be detected for a relatively long period of time due to their long half life of 73 hours.
This new tracer thus allows to perform long-term measurement of cation metabolism, which could be used to monitor progression of a stroke during the first few hours of hospital admission; this information can then be leveraged to fine-tune treatment decisions.
 

Commercial Opportunity

In-licensing or co-development.

Developmental Status

Proof-of-principle experiments have been conducted in a rat model of cerebral ischemia.

Patent Situation

A patent family has been established based on WO 2007/076848A2.

Further Reading

Goldschmidt et al.: High-resolution mapping of neuronal activity using the lipophilic thallium chelate complex TIDDC: Protocol and validation of the method. NeuroImage 49(2010): 303 - 315.  

 

 

 

 

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Kontakt:

Isabell Schwenkert, PhD
Technology Manager
Ascenion GmbH

T: +49 (0)511 532-8918
F: +49 (0)511 532-8929
schwenkert@ascenion.de