Preliminary Evidence for an Elevated Neuro-inflammatory Signal in Opioid Use Disorder: Findings From a PET TSPO Imaging Study

Postmortem analyses of deceased opioid users show elevated glial markers and disrupted neuroinflammatory pathways. To date, evidence of neuroinflammation among living persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) is lacking. To address this question, OUD patients and control subjects underwent Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging with [11C]PBR28, a widely-used in vivo neuroimmune system marker.