Abstract
This thesis reported two studies utilizing F-18-FP-(+)-DTBZ, a radiotracer targeting vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT2) and positron emission tomography (PET) on neurotoxin-induced Parkinson’s disease (PD) animal models. The first study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Magnolol on MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine) animal model using F-18-FP-(+)-DTBZ PET imaging method. The second study was to verify the suitability of a rat model of PD induced by intracranial administration of Lactacystin via medial forebrain bundle (MFB), an ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) inhibitor, using F-18-FP-(+)-DTBZ PET imaging approach. The results of the first study clearly revealed that Magnolol can partially restore the dopaminergic neuron loss induced by MPTP. The results of the second study demonstrated that F-18-FP-(+)-DTBZ PET imaging not only can clearly show the lesion of dopaminergic neuron induced by Lactacystin to the MFB, but also can be used to monitor the different lesion level with various doses of lactacystin and different time after treatment.