Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine
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The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (18)F-FDG PET/CT can be used for in vivo chemosensitivity testing and to determine the optimal time point for observation. ⋯ When (18)F-FDG was injected as early as 40 min after administration of chemotherapy, PET showed significantly decreased in vivo uptake of the tracer in chemoresponsive tumors. This finding suggests that (18)F-FDG PET may be able to discriminate sensitive from insensitive tumors if the imaging is performed immediately after a test dose of chemotherapy. The optimal observation time and methodology for various chemotherapy-tumor combinations will need to be studied to confirm whether this approach can be generalized.
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Small-animal models are crucial to gain insights in the complex recovery mechanisms of liver function during liver regeneration. (99m)Tc-Mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) has been introduced for noninvasive assessment of liver function in the clinical setting as well as in experimental research. However, HBS is restricted to planar modalities in small animals because hepatic kinetics are generally too fast for SPECT acquisition. (99m)Tc-DTPA-galactosyl serum albumin (where DTPA is diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) ((99m)Tc-GSA) scintigraphy is an alternative, receptor-mediated, noninvasive liver function test. After hepatic uptake, (99m)Tc-GSA remains trapped in the liver, which readily enables additional SPECT for the assessment of both liver function and liver functional volume within one test. In this study we evaluated the use of (99m)Tc-GSA scintigraphy combined with SPECT for the assessment of liver function and liver functional volume in normal and regenerating rat livers. ⋯ (99m)Tc-GSA scintigraphy combined with SPECT is a feasible, noninvasive method to assess hepatic functional volume in normal rat liver as well as in the regenerating rat liver. However, the hepatic (99m)Tc-GSA uptake as a liver function test seems to underestimate hepatic regeneration in comparison to liver volume.
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Minocycline is an antibiotic now recognized to have antiapoptotic and antiinflammatory properties. Because of these properties, minocycline may be of benefit in reducing neuronal apoptosis from ischemia and subsequent postischemic inflammation if administered soon after a stroke. We now explore the feasibility of using (99m)Tc-annexin V, an in vivo marker of apoptosis, with SPECT to monitor the antiapoptotic effects of minocycline therapy. ⋯ We found that minocycline significantly reduces neuronal apoptosis and infarct size and improves neurologic outcome in mice after acute focal cortical ischemia.
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Graft infection after prosthetic vascular reconstruction is an uncommon but severe complication. The clinical presentation is often subtle and nonspecific and may occur long after surgery. Although defining a prosthetic vascular graft infection can be difficult, early diagnosis and treatment are important because of the relatively high rates of amputation and death. The present study assessed the role of PET/CT using 18F-FDG for the diagnosis of vascular graft infections. ⋯ 18F-FDG PET/CT is a reliable noninvasive imaging modality for the diagnosis of vascular graft-related infection. The precise anatomic localization of increased 18F-FDG uptake provided by PET/CT enables accurate differentiation between graft and soft-tissue infection.
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Patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are commonly at high risk of recurrence within 2 y after initial treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with possibly recurrent ESCC who underwent definitive treatment. ⋯ 18F-FDG PET/CT is highly effective for detecting recurrent ESCC. The relatively low specificity at local sites is associated primarily with a high rate of false-positive interpretations at anastomoses. PET/CT can also provide noninvasive and independent prognostic information using SUV and recurrent disease pattern on PET/CT images for previously treated ESCC.