The Relationship of the Eye Uptake of N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine to Melanin Production

Eye uptake has been a potential concern with N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine (I-123 IMP) because it has been observed in certain animal species. We have investigated the cause of the eye uptake and its relationship to melanin synthesis. In a 1-yr-old cynomolgus monkey, high concentration of the tracer was seen in the eyes regardless of the type of anesthesia (pentobarbital or ketamine) or the oral administration of Lugol's solution. The eye uptake at 24 hr after injection of I-123 IMP was equally high in an 8-yr-old rhesus monkey. The ratio of radioactivity in the eye of black compared with white albino mice was 10:1 at 30 min, 18:1 at 2 hr and 36:1 at 24 hr after injection of I- 123 IMP. No eye uptake above soft-tissue background was seen in five patients at 2, 24, and 48 hr after injection. I-123 IMP is avidly incorporated into melanocytes actively producing melanin, but substantially less in melanocytes where production of melanin has ceased as in the human eye.