First‐in‐human [18F]D2‐Deprenyl‐PET imaging and GFAP evaluation as biomarkers of reactive astrogliosis in neurodegenerative diseases

Neuroinflammation is a process occurring in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and parkinsonian syndromes. In light of emerging disease modifying trials, objective biomarkers are urgently needed. Here, we target reactive astrogliosis for biomarker development in a pilot cohort of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), in which key pathology and associated neuroinflammation are regionally more restricted than in AD, but more pronounced than in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). We combine glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as fluid‐based biomarker with [18F]D2‐Deprenyl‐(DED)‐PET imaging, a novel PET tracer targeting MAO‐B, for comprehensive characterization of reactive astrogliosis in this model disease.