New brain scans aim to spot inflammation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
NCT ID NCT04396873
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 5 times
Summary
This study uses special PET scans to measure inflammation in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers will compare these scans to those from healthy volunteers to see if inflammation levels differ. The goal is to develop better tools for understanding and tracking these diseases.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- 11C-MC1, 11C-PS13, and 18F-florbetaben (radioactive tracers injected for PET imaging)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to better ways to detect and monitor brain inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases, aiding diagnosis and treatment development.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase imaging study, not a treatment trial. It may not find clear differences between patients and healthy volunteers, and results may not directly improve patient care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 184 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2021
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 99 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, patients must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Aged 18 or older. 2. Be able (or have their Legally Authorized Representative (LAR) be able) to understand the study and be willing to sign a written informed consent document. 3. Have been diagnosed by a neurologist or psychiatrist with MCI, ALS, PD, or an adult onset neurodegenerative dementia, such as AD (including amyloid negative subjects), FTD, corticobasal syndrome, or Huntington s disease. 4. Be in good general health as evidenced by medical history and physical examination. 5. Have their radial artery pulse checked for the presence of adequate ulnar collateral flow and the absence of any metal or foreign objects in both wrists. 6. Agree to adhere to the lifestyle considerations. Healthy volunteers: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, healthy volunteer subjects must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Aged 18 or older. 2. Female participants of childbearing potential must be using a medically acceptable means of contraception 3. Able provide informed consent. 4. Be in good general health, as evidenced by medical history and physical examination, and have no cognitive impairment. 5. Be enrolled in 01-M-0254, The Evaluation of Participants with Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Healthy Volunteers or 17-M-0181, Recruitment and Characterization of Healthy Research Volunteers for NIMH Intramural Studies 6. Have their radial artery pulse checked for the presence of adequate ulnar collateral flow and the absence of any metal or foreign objects in both wrists. 7. Agree to adhere to the lifestyle considerations. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Both patients and healthy volunteers who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: 1. Clinically significant abnormalities on EKG or laboratory testing. This includes CBC and acute care panel (Na, K, Cl, CO2, creatinine, glucose, urea nitrogen). Any lab value that is two-times the upper limit or even lower values in the investigator s judgment. Creatinine level \>1.3 mg/dL 2. Subjects should not have taken Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) for two weeks prior to the PET scan. Aspirin, corticosteroids (with the exception of skin products), or immunosuppressants (e.g., methotrexate) must not have been taken in the prior month. 3. Contraindications to ketoprofen, such as hypersensitivity to ketoprofen or history of upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. 4. Have other major neurological or medical diseases that may cause cognitive dysfunction, such as structural brain diseases, metabolic diseases, paraneoplastic syndromes, infectious diseases, or other significant neurological abnormalities. 5. Have an unstable medical condition that, in the opinion of the investigators, makes participation unsafe (e.g., an active infection or untreated malignancy). 6. Are unable to travel to the NIH. 7. Have recent exposure to radiation related to research (e.g., PET from other research) that, when combined with this study, would be above the allowable limits. 8. Have an inability to lie flat and/or lie still on the camera bed for at least two hours, including claustrophobia, overweight greater than the maximum for the scanner, and uncontrollable behavioral symptoms, which will be screened by an interview with the patient and/or caregiver during the screening visit. 9. Participants must not have substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder. However, alcohol or cannabis use by themselves are not exclusion criteria, unless that use impairs function of daily life. 10. Participants should not be under treatment with Aduhelm, nor should they have been treated in the past. 11. Are unable to have an MRI scan (e.g., because of pacemakers or other implanted electrical devices, brain stimulators, dental implants, aneurysm clips (metal clips on the wall of a large artery), metallic prostheses (including metal pins and rods, heart valves, and cochlear implants), permanent eyeliner, implanted delivery pumps, shrapnel fragments, or metal fragments in the eye). 12. Pregnancy 13. HIV infection 14. Be NIMH staff or an NIH employee who is a subordinate/relative/co-worker of the investigators.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
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