Research Methods in Life Sciences Commons^™

Characterization Of An 18f-Growth Hormone Secretagogue Probe For Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Of The Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor, Ahmed Abbas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cardiovascular disease affects 1.6 million Canadians, of whom one-third have heart failure (HF). HF is diagnosed by imaging investigations and detection of circulating biomarkers. Most of the current imaging strategies study morphologic and gross functional changes, but fall short of imaging molecular abnormalities associated with HF. Biomarkers offer molecular targets; however, clinical biomarkers circulate systemically and are not cardiac-specific. Thus, there is critical need for a biomarker that is endogenous to myocardial tissues. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR1a), which binds the hormone ghrelin, is expressed by cardiomyocytes and is elevated in HF patients. This study characterized the specificity …