[18F]FDOPA

[18F]FDOPA (18F-fluorodopa) is a radiopharmaceutical diagnostic imaging agent used as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer to visualize and quantify presynaptic dopaminergic function in the brain. As a fluorinated analog of L-DOPA, it serves as a substrate for the enzyme aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase (AAADC), which converts it into [18F]fluorodopamine for storage in presynaptic vesicles. In clinical research led by Dr. Daniel Claassen at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, [18F]FDOPA is being evaluated in a Phase 1 study (NCT04246437) to assess brain dopamine synthesis capacity in patients with synucleinopathies, including pure autonomic failure, Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, and dementia with Lewy bodies. The tracer is used to measure the uptake constant (Ki) in regions such as the putamen and substantia nigra, serving as a biomarker to predict the phenoconversion from peripheral autonomic failure to central nervous system disorders.

Other names

18F-fluorodopa[18F]F-DOPAfluorodopa F-186-[18F]fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine