Assessment of Neuroinflammation in Central Inflammatory Disorders Using [F-18]DPA-714. (DPA-714)

February 17, 2026 updated by: Jonathan E McConathy, University of Alabama at Birmingham
The primary objective of this study is to measure the concentration and the regional brain distribution of activated brain microglia/macrophages using the PET radiopharmaceutical [F-18]DPA-714 in individuals with chronic pain and fatigue suspected to be associated with neuroinflammation. The PET tracer [F-18]DPA-714 binds to the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO, also known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor) in the mitochondria of activated microglia/macrophages and provides a non-invasive measure of neuroinflammation. The primary objective of this study is to determine if pain and fatigue patients have higher levels of neuroinflammation than HC individuals as measured with [F-18]DPA-714-PET/MRI.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Phase

  • Phase 1

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • Recruiting
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jonathan McConathy, MD, PhD
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Bag Asim, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Bhambhvani Pradeep, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Choudhary Gagandeep, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Geldmacher David, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Lapi Suzanne, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Jeffers Charlotte Denise, RPh
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Natelson Marissa, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Roberson Erik, MD, PhD

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 61 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. 18 to 65 years of age
  2. Healthy volunteer OR Clinical diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) OR Meets 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) case definition criteria for fibromyalgia OR Meets 1994 Fukuda case definition criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Contraindication to MRI
  2. Pregnancy
  3. Lactation
  4. Individuals who are unable to participate in the imaging portion due to severity of their medical condition
  5. Chronic infectious disease (e.g. HIV, HCV)
  6. Viral or bacterial illness requiring medical attention and/or antibiotics within 1 month of study participation
  7. Diagnosis of cancer, including leukemia
  8. Blood or blood clotting disorder
  9. Except for individuals with MS, a diagnosis of autoimmune disease is exclusionary
  10. Positive urine β-hCG test day of procedure or a serum -hCG test within 48 hours prior to the administration of [18F]DPA-714
  11. Currently enrolled in a clinical trial utilizing experimental therapies

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy Controls
Drug: DPA-714 PET/MRI
DPA-714 PET/MRI
Experimental: Fibromyalgia Subjects
Drug: DPA-714 PET/MRI
DPA-714 PET/MRI
Experimental: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Subjets
Drug: DPA-714 PET/MRI
DPA-714 PET/MRI
Experimental: Multiple Sclerosis Subjects
Drug: DPA-714 PET/MRI
DPA-714 PET/MRI

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neuroinflammation will be measured in healthy volunteers and compared to neuroinflammation in individuals with pain and fatigue, as measured with [F-18]DPA-714-PET/MRI.
Time Frame: 3 years
Quantitative PET measures of TSPO binding in brain regions including cerebral cortex, thalami, and brainstem will be compared between healthy volunteers and symptomatic study participants with pain and/or fatigue.
3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Collaborators

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

February 3, 2019

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 6, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 28, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

November 30, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R18-118
  • 5R01NS109529-05 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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