Abstract
Serotonin transporters are distributed throughout the brain, and abnormalities in these transporters may be implicated in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease, major depression, schizophrenia, substance addiction, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, the exact role of serotonin transporters in these conditions remains unclear, possibly due to a lack of effective in vivo imaging methods. Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are the two most common neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly, and there are currently no effective treatment strategies to halt their progression. Parkinson's disease primarily affects the dopamine system, while Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and β-amyloid plaques in the brain. Utilizing imaging agents combined with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) offers an effective approach for in vivo research on brain serotonin transporters, dopamine systems, and neurofibrillary tangles. Our team employs these nuclear medicine techniques to conduct various imaging studies in rodents and non-human primates, aiming to provide valuable insights for clinical applications.
Kuo-Hsing Ma, PhD
Institute of Biology and Anatomy
National Defense Medical Center
Kuo-Hsing Ma, PhD
Professor Kuo-Hsing Ma earned his BSc degree in Pharmacy in 1994 from the National Defense Medical Center (NDMC), where he also received a master’s degree in Anatomy in 1997 and a PhD degree in Life Science in 2002. He began his academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Biology at NDMC in 2003. Over the years, he advanced to become an associate professor in 2009 and a full professor in 2012. His research interests have primarily focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and drug addiction. Professor Ma's research team has successfully established primate and rat models of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and drug addiction. They employ a variety of imaging agents in conjunction with positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) techniques to monitor the progression of brain lesions in these animal models. Specifically, they use [18F]FE-PE2I/PET, [18F]DOPA/PET, [99mTc]TRODAT/SPECT, and [123I]IBZM/SPECT to evaluate the status of the dopamine system in Parkinson's animal models. For the serotonin system, they utilize [18F]ADAM/PET and [123I]ADAM/SPECT. Additionally, they employ [18F]FEPPA/PET to monitor neuroinflammatory responses and [18F]T807 to follow tau protein pathology in Alzheimer's animal models.