Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine
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(18)F-FDG PET is an accurate and reliable technique for localizing medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy, but widespread use has been hindered by limited reimbursement in many countries because of the high cost of traditional PET equipment and radioisotopes. Additionally, the place of FDG PET as a cost-effective tool for presurgical evaluation of epilepsy has been questioned because of limited data showing that FDG PET provides localization information incremental to that provided by more established techniques, particularly MRI and ictal electroencephalography (EEG). Three-dimensional (3D), large-field-of-view, sodium iodide crystal-based scanners have lower equipment and running costs and better multiplanar resolution than traditional 2-dimensional bismuth germinate (BGO) systems but have not yet been validated for evaluation of epilepsy. Our purpose was to investigate the localization rate, accuracy, and prognostic value of FDG PET images acquired on a 3D, large-field-of-view, sodium iodide crystal-based PET scanner in the presurgical evaluation of intractable partial epilepsy. We also wanted to establish the incremental value of FDG PET over established MRI and ictal EEG techniques. ⋯ For intractable partial epilepsy, FDG PET using a 3D, large-field-of-view, sodium iodide crystal-based scanner provided clinically useful localizing information that was at least as accurate as the results reported for traditional BGO-based scanners. The PET images provided prognostically significant localization information incremental to that provided by volumetric MRI and ictal EEG, particularly if 1 of these studies was nonlocalizing.
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Early and accurate diagnosis of osteomyelitis remains a clinical problem. Acute osteomyelitis often occurs in infants and most often is located in the long bones. Radiologic images show changes only in advanced stages of disease. Scintigraphic imaging with (99m)Tc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP), or bone scanning, is much more sensitive in detecting acute osteomyelitis but lacks specificity. We evaluated the performance of (99m)Tc-interleukin-8 (IL-8) in an experimental model of acute osteomyelitis. ⋯ In this rabbit model of osteomyelitis, (99m)Tc-IL-8 clearly revealed the osteomyelitic lesion. Although the absolute uptake in the osteomyelitic area was significantly lower than that obtained with (99m)Tc-MDP and (67)Ga-citrate, the T/Bs were significantly higher for (99m)Tc-IL-8 because of fast background clearance. The ease of preparation, good image quality, and lower radiation burden suggest that (99m)Tc-IL-8 may be a suitable imaging agent for the scintigraphic evaluation of acute osteomyelitis.