Cholinergic activity of aged rhesus monkeys revealed by positron emission tomography.

In the present study, the radiotracer [(18)F] (+)-4-fluorobenzyltrozamicol ((+)-[(18)F]FBT) and positron emission tomography (PET) were used to examine the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and determine if presynaptic cholinergic activity was altered with age in 23 rhesus monkeys that varied in age from 10 to 37 years. Binding of (+)-[(18)F]FBT in the basal ganglia was reduced significantly with increasing age of the monkeys. However, there were individual differences noted in that some middle-aged and aged monkeys demonstrated levels of (+)-[(18)F]FBT binding that were comparable to the binding measured in adult monkeys. These data indicate that presynaptic cholinergic function may decrease with age, but that there may be a differential susceptibility of the cholinergic system to the aging process in different individuals. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.