Brain 5-HT2A receptor occupancy of deramciclane in humans after a single oral administration – a positron emission tomography study

Abstract

Rationale: Deramciclane fumarate is a new 5-HT_2A and 5-HT_2C receptor antagonist with putative anxiolytic effects. In the present study the binding of deramciclane to serotonin 5-HT_2A receptors in frontal cortex of healthy male volunteers was studied using [¹¹C]-N-methyl spiperone ([¹¹C]-NMSP) and positron emission tomography. Methods: The receptor occupancy percentage was assessed by the means of inhibition of [¹¹C]-NMSP from the 5-HT_2A receptors in the frontal cortex. Single oral doses of 20, 50 and 150 mg deramciclane were given to three subjects at each dose level (total n = 9). The receptor occupancy was measured before deramciclane and at 3 and 6 h post-dosing except at the 20 mg dose level where only the 3-h measurement was done. The occupancy percentage was calculated with the ratio method using cerebellum as a reference area. Results: Deramciclane inhibited [¹¹C]-NMSP binding dose and concentration dependently. However, deramasciclane inhibited maximally only 52% of the [¹¹C]-NMSP binding in the frontal cortex, indicating a non-5-HT_2A receptor binding component of this radioligand in frontal cortex. On average, specific [¹¹C]-NMSP binding cerebellum ratios below 0.355 were not possible to achieve in this population. The 52% inhibition was regarded to represent near 100% 5-HT_2A receptor occupancy. The 50 and 90% receptor occupancies were reached at deramciclane plasma concentrations of 21 ng/ml and 70 ng/ml, respectively. Conclusions: Deramciclane penetrates the blood-brain barrier in humans. Deramciclane binds to the 5-HT_2A receptors in the frontal cortex in a saturable manner in vivo. Consequently, the increase in deramciclane concentration in plasma above 70 ng/ml will not result in major increase in the 5-HT_2A receptor occupancy in the brain.