Progress of dopamine transporter PET imaging agent ¹¹C-Altropane

In patients with Parkinson's disease(PD), a chronic progressive neurological degeneration order, the degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is generally associated with the significant decrease in the number and disrupted function of dopamine transporters(DATs) in the presynaptic membrane. ¹¹C-Altropane, a DAT-imaging agent, can specifically binds with DAT and directly reflects the changes in presynaptic dopaminergic neuron. In this paper, the synthesis of ¹¹C-Altropane and its application as a PET imaging agent in clinical research were reviewed.