Development of new muscarinic and ß-adrenergic receptor radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography:application to lungs, heart and brain

In this thesis the synthesis and radiolabelling of two potent muscarinic antagonists are described. Both radioligands were shown to be very useful for imaging muscarinic receptors in rats. In a pilot study executed with one of these antagonists in three healthy volunteers, muscarinic receptors in the lungs could be clearly visualized. Now, the way is paved for the determination of receptor densities with compartment models and multiple injection protocols and comparative studies between patients suffering from asthma andlor COPD, and healthyvolunteers