Brain imaging techniques have permitted a noninvasive localization of specific brain areas involved in neurological and psychiatric disorders and in the responses of the human brain to psychotropic drugs. Creative Biolabs has a comprehensive technology platform with an advanced quantitative autoradiography level. We are committed to providing quality services to customers worldwide.
Introduction to Quantitative Autoradiography Application in Psychiatric
Quantitative autoradiography has become a routine method in most laboratories for identifying the anatomical distribution of neurotransmitter receptors and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) gene expression for most biologically active molecules in the brain. The development of more sensitive probes and their quantification at the cellular level should allow for accurate localization of drug-receptor interactions to be made. Perhaps the most important advances to be made in the twenty-first century will involve the application of imaging methods to conscious humans by means of positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission tomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.
Quantitative Autoradiography Technologies
The advantage of PET imaging is that it can be used to explore the dynamic brain function. 2-Deoxyglucose mapping of the human brain has already been used to identify the functional activity of different brain regions and the metabolic interrelationships between them. It has already been demonstrated that PET can detect which brain regions are functionally abnormal in such diverse conditions as dementia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and more recently, obsessive-compulsive disorder. With the use of more short half-life nonradioactive isotopes and improved resolution, it should be possible to use PET not only for studying drug action in vivo but also as a diagnostic tool. One intrinsic limitation of PET derives from the nature of positron decay. PET recognizes the site of positron annihilation but not the site of radioactive decay. Since positron must generally come to rest in tissues before being able to collide with an electron, annihilation often occurs some distance away from the origin of the positron. This places a theoretical limit on the achievable spatial resolution of PET, which is estimated at 2-3 mm.
In SPEGT imaging, proton-rich radionucleotides capture an orbiting electron, transforming it into a neutron. The resulting nucleus often remains residually excited which, being metastable, obliterates a gamma-ray. Isotopes that decay by electron capture and/or gamma emission are used in SPECT and include 123-iodine and the metastable nucleotide technetium-99m. Because gamma rays are emitted directly from the site of decay, no comparable theoretical limit on spatial resolution exists for SPECT. Thus, recent advances in the design of the apparatus and radiation defection have made SPECT sufficiently sensitive for routine use.
MRI has already received much attention in nuclear magnetic resonance. MRI enables the anatomy and metabolism of discrete brain regions to be studied in the brain of conscious subjects. For example, with MRI, it is possible to determine the concentration of sodium ions and various phosphorous-containing compounds in the brain. Sodium scans already can provide rapid identification of cell death, because, in dying brain tissue, the sodium concentration increases more rapidly than the water content. An extension of this technique is fMRI, which is based on the difference in the magnetic susceptibility of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin. Increased neuronal activity leads to a greater increase in cerebral blood flow and regional oxygen consumption. A stronger radio frequency signal means that the sensitivity of the conventional MRI method is considerably increased.
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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
rTMS, which was the topic of an entire issue of CNS Spectrums, has been shown to affect mood directly, thereby offering the potential for exerting changes in brain activity in a therapeutically useful manner. If the initial promises of this technique are realized, rTMS could become an important treatment modality in the future.
Services at Creative Biolabs
With proven expertise in psychotropic drug development, Creative Biolabs is revolved to become an industry-leading company focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of psychotropic drug development. Our platform will provide all the technologies mentioned above (including PET, SPECT, MRI, and rTMS). Moreover, with Ph.D. level professional experts, we are capable of meeting every specific demand whether it is a stand-alone service or an integrated project.
Why Us?
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High-quality experts specialized in the field with years of service experience
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Comprehensive technologies and advanced methods platform
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Reliability and information security
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Mature experimental technology system
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Effective and cost-effective
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