What this means
This study will use a new, very detailed brain scanner to look at small brain areas. It is still signing up volunteers, so no results are available yet.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the registry listing.
- Status
- Recruiting
- Who can join
- Ages 18–90
- Where
- 1 site
The science
- Registered title
- Ultra-High Resolution PET in Aging, Neurodegeneration and Psychotic Disorders
- Trial ID
- NCT07509125 ↗
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Study type
- interventional
- Conditions
- Alzheimer Dementia (AD), ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson s Disease, REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD), PSP - Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, MSA - Multiple System Atrophy, Dementia With Lewy Bodies (DLB), ALS With Frontotemporal Dementia (ALS/FTD), Adult Onset Psychotic Disorder, Very Late Onset Psychotic Disorder
- What is tested
- UHR PET/CT scan of the brain with ¹⁸F-FDG, UHR PET/CT scan of the brain with ¹⁸F-PE2I, UHR PET/CT scan of the brain with ¹⁸F-SynVesT-1, UHR PET/CT scan of the brain with ¹⁸F-MK6240, 3T MRI imaging of the brain
- Sponsor
- Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
- Ages
- 18 Years to 90 Years
- Dates
- First posted Apr 3, 2026 · updated Apr 3, 2026
Registry summary
The goal of this study is to use ultra-high-resolution (UHR) PET imaging to better understand how the brain and spinal cord change in healthy aging and in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and psychotic disorders. Researchers will use the NeuroExplorer PET/CT system, a new scanner that can show very small structures in the brain and spinal cord in much more detail than regular PET.
The main questions this study aims to answer are:
- How do small but important brain regions (like the locus coeruleus, substantia nigra, and thalamic nuclei) change in healthy aging?
- What early brain changes occur in neurodegenerative and psychotic disorders, and can they help improve early diagnosis?
Participants will:
- Undergo PET and MRI brain scans using different tracers that measure brain metabolism (18F-FDG), synaptic density (¹⁸F-SynVesT-1), dopamine transporters (¹⁸F-PE2I), and tau protein buildup (¹⁸F-MK6240).
- Complete cognitive and clinical assessments related to memory, mood, and motor or psychiatric symptoms, depending on their group.
This study will include healthy volunteers and patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer´s disease, ALS, Parkinson's disease and related disorders, or psychotic disorders.
The results will help create detailed brain imaging maps for healthy aging and identify early biomarkers for different diseases to support better diagnosis and treatment in the future.
Sites (1)
- UZ Leuven, Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium