α-synuclein imaging: a critical need for Parkinson's disease research.

The development of an -synuclein imaging agent could be transformative for Parkinson's disease research and drug development. The ability to image -synuclein in the brain would enable tracking of the degree and location of pathology over time and monitoring of therapies aimed at reducing -synuclein levels. The Michael J. Fox Foundation has assembled a consortium of researchers to develop an-synuclein radiotracer for use in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies. While this poses a number of challenges they should not be insurmountable and lessons learned from the development of tau radiotracers should provide valuable insights.