In Vivo Measurement of Receptor Density and Affinity: Comparison of the Routine Sequential Method with a Nonsequential Method in Studies of Dopamine D2 Receptors with [11C]Raclopride

Abstract
Positron emission tomography with the dopamine D2/3 receptor ligand raclopride was used to compare sequential (studies on 1 day) and nonsequential (different days) approaches to in vivo measurement of the density and affinity of receptors. The choice of temporal sequence of radiotracer injection over a range of specific activities might result in bias because of diverse factors. A strong concordance is reported between the outcomes of the sequential and nonsequential methods. This suggests that the characteristics of the dopamine D2/3 receptors are relatively stable within physiologic boundaries and can be reproducibly and reliably measured in stable conditions.