Los Angeles -- A first-in-class PET imaging approach can
accurately detect a biomarker for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a
devastating neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head impact. Rather
than waiting until after death for definitive diagnosis, this imaging biomarker
has the potential to diagnose patients while they are still alive and could
play a critical role in supporting clinical trials to develop CTE treatments.
This research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular
Imaging 2026 Annual Meeting.
CTE is common among contact sports athletes, military
veterans, and victims of interpersonal or intimate partner violence, as well as
anyone who has experienced a traumatic brain injury. Individuals with suspected
CTE often experience mental health consequences including cognitive decline,
mood symptoms, impulsivity, and dementia. At present, CTE can only be
definitively diagnosed after death through neuropathological examination.
"Post-mortem, CTE is confirmed by the presence of tau
plaques in the brain," said Isabelle Boileau, PhD, senior scientist and associate
director of the Brain Health Imaging Centre and head of the Addiction Imaging
Research Group at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. "Existing
tau PET tracers, however, are largely developed for Alzheimer's disease and may
not adequately detect the distinct tau pathology seen in CTE."
In the study, researchers evaluated a new tau PET
radiotracer for its ability to recognize tau plaques in patients with suspected
CTE. Three retired collision-sport athletes and seven healthy controls
underwent dynamic brain PET with 18F-OXD-2314. Tau distribution patterns were
analyzed, and specific regions of interest were assessed. Additional studies
were also conducted to assess 3H-OXD-2314 binding in post-mortem CTE tissue.
Compared to healthy controls, images of individuals with suspected CTE revealed
elevated uptake of 18F-OXD-2314 in the grey-white matter junction and in white
matter. Additionally, the 3H-OXD-2314 signal was observed in all post-mortem
CTE cases examined, providing early biological confirmation that the tracer
binds to tau pathology in human CTE tissue.
"If validated, 18F-OXD-2314 could help provide the first accurate in-life
diagnostic biomarker for CTE," said Boileau. "This work could also establish a
clinical role for PET in traumatic brain injury and sports- and
military-related neurodegeneration and spark next generation
tau-radiopharmaceuticals optimized for non-Alzheimer's disease tauopathies including
CTE."
She continued, "While this radiopharmaceutical is in the
early clinical research stage, our data in both people with suspected CTE and
other non-Alzheimer's disease tauopathies is very promising. The PET imaging
for CTE could be available to patients as early as in the next two years,
pending further studies."