In vivo quantitative imaging of dopamine receptors in human brain using positron emission tomography and [76Br]bromospiperone.

The brain regional distribution and kinetics of [76Br]bromospiperone, a derivative of a neuroleptic (spiperone) labeled with the positron emitter bromine-76, were studied by time-of-flight tomography after i.v. injection in man. In a control subject the kinetic distribution study showed an accumulation of radioactivity which reached a maximum 3 h postinjection in the frontal cortex and cerebellum regions and 4-5 h postinjection in the basal ganglia. Thereafter the striatal activity remained essentially constant over a period of 25 h. In a group of 13 control subjects, the mean value for the striatum-to-cerebellum ratio, at 4.5 h postinjection, was 1.84 (S.D. 0.21). In two schizophrenics treated with high doses of haloperidol, this ratio was found to be only 1.22. These data indicate that radiolabeled bromospiperone is very suitable for human pharmacological or pathological investigations of the central dopaminergic system.