Skip to content
Bored Studies
RecruitingAccepts healthy volunteersPhase 1

PET Imaging of Noradrenergic Transmission in the Brain

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) · NCT07686393

View Study & Apply (opens in a new tab)

Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 18–105 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Phase 1
Target enrollment
40
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
August 14, 2026
Record last updated
September 29, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

Background

Researchers have developed a new radioactive tracer (11C-ARMI). A tracer is a drug that attaches itself to other chemicals in the body and lights up so that the chemicals can be seen in imaging scans. The new tracer may be able to help them with many diseases, such as Alzheimer s disease and Parkinson s disease. Researchers want to test the new tracer in healthy people.

Objective

To test a new tracer (11C-ARMI) during imaging scans of the brain and body in healthy people.

Eligibility

Healthy people aged 18 years and older. They must have been screened under protocols 01-M-0254 or 17M0181.

Design

All participants will have a positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scan. Before the scan, they will have blood and urine tests and a test of their heart function. The tracer will be given through a tube attached to a needle inserted into a vein in the arm. They will lie on a padded bed that fits inside a doughnut-shaped machine; the machine uses x-rays to create images of the inside of the body.

Some participants will have a PET/CT scan of their whole body. They will need only 1 visit.

Some participants will have a PET/CT scan of only their brain. They will have up to 2 visits. On the second visit, they will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain. For the MRI, they will lie on a table that slides into a cylinder. The MRI uses magnetic fields to create images of the inside of the body.

Participants will receive a follow-up call to check on their well-being after their PET/CT scans.

Being studied: 11C-ARMI

Conditions: Healthy

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria
  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Aged 18 years or older.
  • Must have undergone a screening assessment under protocol 01-M-0254, The Evaluation of Patients with Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Healthy Participants or 17M0181 Recruitment and Characterization of Healthy Research Volunteers for NIMH Intramural Studies.
  • Be healthy based on medical history, physical examination, and laboratory testing.
  • Able to understand and willingness to provide informed consent.
  • Willingness to complete all study procedures including MRI tests.
  • Have had their radial artery pulse checked for the presence of adequate ulnar collateral flow and the absence of any metal or foreign objects in both wrists.
  • Agree to adhere to the lifestyle considerations

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:

  • Clinically significant abnormalities on EKG or laboratory testing. This includes CBC and acute care panel (Na, K, Cl, CO2, creatinine, glucose, urea nitrogen).
  • Recent exposure to radiation (i.e., PET from other research) that, when combined with this study, would be above the allowable limits.
  • Inability to lie flat on camera bed for at least two hours, including claustrophobia and weight greater than the maximum for the scanner (500 lbs).
  • HIV infection.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Must not have substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder.
  • Unable to travel to the NIH.
  • Unable to have an MRI scan (e.g., because of pacemakers or other implanted electrical devices, brain stimulators, dental implants, aneurysm clips (metal clips on the wall of a large artery), metallic prostheses (including metal pins and rods, heart valves, and cochlear implants), permanent eyeliner, implanted delivery pumps, shrapnel fragments, or metal fragments in the eye.
  • Taking medications reported to have significant binding to alpha-1 adrenoceptors, medications that that alter norepinephrine release, or medications that lower blood pressure including antihypertensives, diuretics, or phosphodiesterase-5(PDE-5) inhibitors (e.g. sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil) within five elimination halflives prior to any [11C]ARMI PET scan.
  • Known hypersensitivity to quinazoline-class medications (e.g., prazosin), defined as any prior allergic or clinically significant adverse reaction requiring discontinuation or medical evaluation.
  • Blood donation within 8 weeks (2 months) before study participation, or unwillingness to avoid blood donation for 8 weeks (2 months) after the study.

Recruiting US locations

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

    Bethesda, MD 20892

    Site contact: NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR) · 800-411-1222 · ccopr@nih.gov

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Tara N Turon, C.R.N.P. · (301) 827-6599 · tara.turon@nih.gov
  • Robert B Innis, M.D. · (301) 594-1368 · robert.innis@nih.gov
All healthy volunteers studies in Maryland →
PET Imaging of Noradrenergic Transmission in the Brain (NCT07686393) | Bored Studies