The fatty acid amide hydrolase C385A variant affects brain binding of the positron emission tomography tracer [11C]CURB.

The common functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs324420, C385A) of the endocannabinoid inactivating enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) has been associated with anxiety disorder relevant phenotype and risk for addictions. Here, we tested whether the FAAH polymorphism affects in vivo binding of the FAAH positron emission tomography (PET) probe [11C]CURB ([11C-carbonyl]-6-hydroxy-[1,10-biphenyl]-3-yl cyclohexylcarbamate (URB694)). Participants (n=24) completed one [11C]CURB/PET scan and were genotyped for rs324420. Relative to C/C (58%), A-allele carriers (42%) had 23% lower [11C]CURB binding (λk3) in brain. We report evidence that the genetic variant rs324420 in FAAH is associated with measurable differences in brain FAAH binding as per PET [11C]CURB measurement.Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism advance online publication, 3 June 2015; doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2015.119.