PET Tau - Neurodegenerative Disease Imaging

October 10, 2025 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging of Tau Pathology in Neurodegenerative Disease

The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of a protein in the brain known as tau using an imaging procedure called Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT). Tau has been shown to build up in the brains of patients with injury to brain cells. This study looks at neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of a protein in the brain known as tau using an imaging procedure called Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT). Tau has been shown to build up in the brains of patients with injury to brain cells, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body disease and Frontotemporal degeneration. 18F-AV-1451 (formally known as 18F-T807) is a specialized radioactive PET tracer that sticks to the tau protein in the brain. In this study, researchers will use 18F-AV-1451 to form images of tau binding in the brain. 18F-AV-1451 is an investigational or experimental imaging agent that has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in brain imaging.

In this study, researchers want to find out how accurate and useful 18F-AV-1451 is in imaging patients who have problems with thinking, remembering, speech, and visual activities, and may be diagnosed with different types of neurodegenerative disease. This study will help test how imaging measures may provide information that could be used to determine diagnosis for patients in the future. The results of the PET/CT scan will be compared with other information obtained under related protocols, including brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spinal fluid and cognitive test results.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
300

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 96 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE SUBJECTS

  1. Participants has been diagnosed with one of the following neurodegenerative diseases: FTD, PPA, CBD, PSP, MCI, AD, PCA, PD, PDD, DLB, MSA, ALS or FTD- ALS
  2. Participants will be 18 years of age or older
  3. Participants must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and provide written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures. If the subject is unable to provide informed consent, the subject's legal representative may consent on behalf of the patient, but the patient will be asked to confirm assent.
  4. Participants must be willing and able to comply with scheduled visits and imaging procedures.
  5. Subject is concurrently enrolled in centers UNICORN(842873) protocol.

INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR HEALTHY CONTROL SUBJECTS

  1. Participants will be 18 years of age or older.
  2. Participants must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and provide written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures.
  3. Participants must be willing and able to comply with scheduled visits and imaging procedures.
  4. Subject is concurrently enrolled in centers UNICORN(842873) protocol

EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR ALL SUBJECTS

  1. Females who are pregnant or breast feeding at the time of the baseline PET/CT scan will not be eligible for this study. A urine pregnancy test will be performed in women of child-bearing potential at screening and within 24 hours of any scheduled PET/CT.
  2. Inability to tolerate or contraindication to imaging procedures in the opinion of an investigator or treating physician
  3. Any medical or psychological condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would compromise the subject's safety or successful participation in the study
  4. The investigators may choose to exclude participants with clinically significant cardiovascular disease and/or documented abnormalities on ECG out of an abundance of caution.
  5. The investigators of UNICORN (IRB #842873) have determined the participant has evidence of structural abnormalities such as major stroke or mass on MRI that is likely to interfere with analysis of the PET scan.

ADDITIONAL EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR HEALTHY CONTROL SUBJECTS

  1. Pre-existing psychiatric conditions (e.g., active depression, schizophrenia, or active anxiety) or neurological conditions (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, head trauma) per medical record review or self-report.
  2. Current use of psychoactive medications or substances per medical record review or self-report.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT) Imaging of Tau Pathology in Neurodegenerative Disease
Individuals who have been diagnosed with FTD, PPA, CBD, PSP, MCI, AD, PCA, PD, PDD, DLB, MSA, ALS or FTD-ALS may participate in this study if they are 18 years of age or older; most participants will be receiving care at the clinical practices of the of the University of Pennsylvania and at Pennsylvania Hospital Department of Neurology. Healthy control subjects will also be recruited for this study.
Drug: 18F-AV-1451

The experimental tracer used for this study is called 18F-AV-1451 is a specialized radioactive PET tracer used to detect the presence of tau proteins in the brain.

Participants will undergo a baseline 18F-AV-1451 brain scan. If funding is available, participants will be asked to return for one or more longitudinal visits, including a 18F-AV-1451 brain scan, every 9 to 18 months after the prior visit.

The 18F-AV-1451 PET/CT scan will require up to 3 hours of time, including preparation. The scan will take place using PET/CT scanners in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine or the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Other Names:
  • 7-(6-[18F]fluoropyridin-3-yl)-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole
  • formally known as 18F-T807

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Regional uptake
Time Frame: 10 years
Examine regional anatomic distribution of PET-tau uptake comparatively in dementia syndromes and PET-Tau uptake with neuropsychology and MRI regional GM atrophy at baseline collected under other center protocols. Uptake with neuropsychology and MRI regional GM atrophy at baseline.
10 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes over time
Time Frame: 10 years
Use regression to relate longitudinal neuropsychological and regional MRI decline in dementia syndromes to baseline regional PET-tau uptake.
10 years
CSF Correlate
Time Frame: 10 years
Correlate CSF total and phosphorylated (p-tau/t-tau) tau with regional PET-tau uptake in dementia syndromes at baseline.
10 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: David Irwin, MD, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 23, 2016

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 2, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 3, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 8, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 15, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 10, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 824867

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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