Stony Brook University
Heart failure reduces the amount of blood the heart pumps, which can lead to memory and thinking problems in many patients. One possible reason is that heart failure triggers brain inflammation, a process in which certain brain immune cells (called microglia) become overactive. A heart failure medication called sacubitril-valsartan has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia, but it is not known whether this is because it reduces brain inflammation. This study uses a new experimental brain scan drug called \[11C\]PS13 (PS13) to measure brain inflammation directly and non-invasively, using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET). PS13 sticks to a molecule called COX-1, which is found mainly in brain immune cells (microglia). By measuring how much PS13 accumulates in the brain, researchers can estimate how much brain inflammation is present. In this pilot study, 18 patients with heart failure and mild memory or thinking problems who are being started on sacubitril-valsartan by their cardiologist (as standard clinical care) will undergo two brain PET scans: one before starting sacubitril-valsartan, and one approximately 12 weeks after. The study will also assess memory, thinking, daily function, mood, and social well-being using standard questionnaires. The study will test whether sacubitril-valsartan is associated with measurable changes in brain inflammation, and whether this type of imaging is feasible in heart failure patients. The study is funded by the American Heart Association and the National Institute on Aging, and an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board oversees participant safety. The results will be used to design a larger study.
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) affects \~6.7 million Americans and is a powerful independent risk factor for accelerated cognitive decline and dementia, playing a major role in vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Neuroinflammation, and particularly microglial activation, is a leading mechanistic hypothesis for HFrEF-associated cognitive decline, driven by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and systemic inflammatory signaling. However, direct in vivo evidence of neuroinflammation in living HFrEF patients is lacking. Sacubitril-valsartan (an angi…
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 50-75 years * Diagnosis of HFrEF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% documented by echocardiography or cardiac imaging within the prior 12 months) * Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score 18-25 (mild cognitive impairment) * Being initiated on sacubitril-valsartan per treating cardiologist's clinical judgment in accordance with current guideline-directed medical therapy for HFrEF * Clinically stable HF (NYHA functional Class I-III) at time of enrollment * Ability to provide written informed consent * Ability to lie flat for up to 90 minutes (required for PET…
\[11C\]PS13 is an investigational positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand targeting cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), an enzyme primarily localized in microglia involved in neuroinflammation. Synthesized on the day of each scan at the Stony Brook BAHL cGMP or FERM facility, administered as a single intravenous bolus (up to 20 mCi) per PET visit. Administered under FDA IND 177118 (21 CFR Part 312). Not FDA-approved; experimental.
Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) initiated by the participant's treating cardiologist per ACC/AHA/HFSA guideline-directed medical therapy for HFrEF. The dose, titration, and monitoring of sacubitril-valsartan are entirely at the discretion of the treating cardiologist and are not research procedures. The timing of the follow-up PET scan (\~12 weeks post-initiation) is aligned with expected clinical stabilization on the drug.