An interventional study of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging and [15O]water PET imaging in Cardiac Sarcoidosis and Infective Endocarditis, sponsored by Turku University Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Finland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-21.
Sponsored by Turku University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
The goal of this prospective diagnostic study is to evaluate the imaging characteristics, diagnostic performance, radiation dosimetry, and safety of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis and infective endocarditis, and healthy volunteers. The study is non-interventional with respect to clinical management, and all diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are made according to routine clinical practice independent of study participation.
The main aims are to evaluate quantitative uptake of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate measured by PET imaging in the left ventricular myocardium of patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis, and in cardiac valves or prosthetic valve regions in patients with suspected infective endocarditis.
Participants will undergo PET imaging with Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate tracer at the Turku PET Centre. Participants with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis will undergo a second PET imaging study after initiation of immunosuppressive therapy.
173 studies on the registry are indexed under Endocarditis; 57 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 143 is above the median of 92 across 86 interventional studies indexed under Endocarditis.
Browse Endocarditis studies →Turku University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 287 studies on the registry; 67 are open to participants now.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Postmenopausal
Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Investigational drug or device
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Excipients
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis. All diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are made according to routine clinical practice independent of study participation.
Diagnostic Test: Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging · Diagnostic Test: [15O]water PET imaging · Diagnostic Test: Echocardiography
Patients with suspected infective endocarditis. All diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are made according to routine clinical practice independent of study participation.
Diagnostic Test: Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging
Healthy volunteers without known cardiovascular or systemic inflammatory disease.
Diagnostic Test: Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging
Imaging is performed in all study groups to assess myocardial, valvular, and extracardiac tracer uptake using a total-body PET/CT system (Siemens Quadra, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany). Imaging will cover the region from head to mid-thighs to enable assessment of both cardiac and extracardiac tracer uptake. Serum and plasma samples, ECG and vital signs are collected during the imaging study visit.
Also known as: Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate
Resting myocardial perfusion imaging using \[15O\]water PET is performed only in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis to assess myocardial perfusion and support interpretation of Al\[18F\]F-NOTA-folate uptake.
Transthoracic echocardiography (GE Vivid 95, GE Healthcare, Hjorten, Norway) will be performed in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis to assess left ventricular structure and function. Acquisition and analysis will follow standard clinical protocols. Echocardiography will be performed during the same visits as PET imaging.
Quantitative uptake of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate measured by PET in the left ventricular myocardium in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis.
Quantitative uptake of Al\[¹⁸F\]F-NOTA-folate on PET in the left ventricular myocardium (global and regional standardized uptake value (SUV) measures derived from polar map analysis) in suspected cardiac sarcoidosis.
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline imaging), no later than 7 days after initiation of systemic immunosuppressive therapy.
Quantitative uptake of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate measured by PET in infected versus non-infected cardiac valves or prostheses in patients with suspected infective endocarditis
Quantitative uptake of Al\[¹⁸F\]F-NOTA-folate on PET in the valve/prosthesis region in suspected infective endocarditis (SUVmax and TBR = SUVmax valve/prosthesis / SUVmean blood pool).
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline imaging), performed within 14 days of enrolment and no later than 14 days after initiation of intravenous antibiotic therapy.
Diagnostic performance of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate PET for cardiac sarcoidosis and native or prosthetic valve infective endocarditis
Time frame: From enrollment to study completion at 2 years.
Change in myocardial Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate uptake following immunosuppressive therapy in cardiac sarcoidosis
Patients with confirmed CS may undergo optional follow-up static PET imaging with Al\[¹⁸F\]F-NOTA-folate and \[¹⁵O\]water approximately 3 months after baseline imaging to assess changes in inflammatory activity following initiation of immunosuppressive therapy.
Time frame: From Visit 2 (baseline imaging) to Visit 3 (follow-up imaging). Visit 2 is performed 7 days after initiation of systemic immunosuppressive therapy and Visit 3 is performed approximately 3 months after baseline imaging.
Biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate
Healthy volunteers will undergo extended imaging, including dynamic imaging for 120 min starting at the time of tracer injection + static imaging for 10 minutes at 150 min after tracer injection to support analysis of tracer kinetics and biodistribution, and radiation dosimetry calculations.
Time frame: Visit 2 (imaging), performed 7-14 days after Visit 1 (screening and enrolment).
Incidence and severity of adverse events related to Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate
Incidence and severity of adverse events (AE) and adverse reactions; clinically significant changes in vital signs or ECG; changes in safety laboratory parameters (healthy volunteers); clinically indicated laboratory assessments performed in the event of an adverse event (as applicable); and investigator assessment of relationship to Al\[¹⁸F\]F-NOTA-folate.
Time frame: Suspected sarcoidosis and infective endocarditis groups: from Visit 2 (baseline imaging) to study completion at 2 years. Healthy volunteers: from Visit 2 to 48-72 hours, when safety laboratory tests will be obtained and AEs assessed by phone interview.
Associations between myocardial Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate uptake and other parameters collected during study visits, and adverse cardiac events during follow-up in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis.
Other measured parameters include left ventricular function, myocardial perfusion, and circulating and imaging biomarkers of myocardial injury or inflammation.
Time frame: From enrollment to end of follow-up at 2 years.
Associations between valvular Al[¹⁸F]F-NOTA-folate uptake and clinical events in patients with suspected infective endocarditis.
Clinical events include duration of antibiotic therapy, causative micro-organism, systemic inflammatory parameters, anatomical valvular lesions, need for cardiac surgery and adverse cardiac events during follow-up.
Time frame: From study enrollment to end of follow-up at 2 years.
Extra-cardiac inflammatory or infectious foci.
Detection and characterisation of extra-cardiac inflammatory or infectious foci on whole-body Al\[¹⁸F\]F-NOTA-folate PET imaging.
Time frame: Suspected sarcoidosis group: Visit 2 (baseline imaging, for details see primary outcome measure) and Visit 3 (follow-up imaging after 3 months). Suspected infective endocarditis group: Visit 2 (baseline imaging, for details see primary outcome measure).
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Sep 2026; primary completion for Dec 2028, 27 months later.
Of 34 interventional studies with no phase under Endocarditis, half reached primary completion within 35 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 22 and three quarters within 59. This study's planned 27 months is below that.
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