Influence of O-Methylated Metabolite Penetrating the Blood–Brain Barrier to Estimation of Dopamine Synthesis Capacity in Human L-[β-¹¹C]DOPA PET

Relation between Dopamine Synthesis Capacity and Cell-Level Structure in Human Striatum: A Multi-Modal Study with Positron Emission Tomography and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

“…L-[β- 11 C]DOPA was synthesized from [ 11 C] carbon dioxide via D,L-[3- 11 C]alanine as described previously [17] , [18] . Kinetic analysis with L-[β- 11 C]DOPA is less affected by 3-O-methyl metabolites than that with [ 18 F]FDOPA, a well-known radio tracer for assessing dopamine synthesis capacity [1] , [19] . After a 10-min transmission scan with a 68 Ge– 68 Ga source, a bolus of 258–392 MBq of L-[β- 11 C]DOPA was injected with specific radioactivity of 12.2 GBq/µmol to 81.1 GBq/µmol at the time of injection into the antecubital vein with a 20-ml saline flush.…”