Longitudinal Investigation of Imidazoline-2 Binding Site as a Novel Marker of Disease Progression in Parkinson's Disease: An [11C]BU99008 PET Study

Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological disease that progresses over time and causes a variety of symptoms, such as slowness of movement, stiffness and shaking. The purpose of this study is to find a biomarker for Parkinson's disease. A biomarker is an indicator of the presence of a disease, that can be measured, and that is able to give information.

The study will take place in London, in three research sites that are located near to each other. The NIHR Imperial Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at Hammersmith Hospital in London, for clinical assessment, and Invicro London for imaging assessments. Both Hammersmith Hospital and Invicro are located at Hammersmith Hospital Campus.

Taking part in this study will involve two sets of visits spaced out 12 months apart. These visits would include, initial screening and consent visit. The second visit would be for an MRI and PET scan with the tracer BU99008 which highlights astroglia cells. The third visit would be for a SPECT scan, and an optional fourth visit for a Lumbar Puncture procedure to collect spinal fluid for analysis.

These visits are then repeated 12 months later to form a comparison. The maximum number of visits for this study would be 8, however two of these visits are optional lumbar puncture visits.

The findings form this research will provide a deeper understanding of the brain changes in Parkinson's disease. More importantly, this study will help with the discovery and development of new medications aiming to delay progression of Parkinson's disease symptoms. n about the progression, or severity, of it.