Weber looks at the sometimes-puzzling phenomenon of brown-fat radiotracer uptake and recent innovations that promise to resolve some of the imaging difficulties it has posed for nuclear medicine specialists.
Goldsmith comments on difficulties in establishing the relationship between radiation-absorbed dose and radiobiologic response and advocates the determination of the microdosimetry of tracers on a microscopic and histopathologic scale.
Strauss et al. assess current research on the relationship of 18F-FDG localization to macrophage activity in atherosclerosis and note that this relationship is likely to be a key to predicting significant cardiac events.
Kasama et al. present scintigraphic and other evidence suggesting that atrial natriuretic peptide can benefit cardiac sympathetic nerve activity and improve left ventricular remodeling in patients with acute heart failure.
Kurata et al. report on a study using 123I-MIBG imaging to determine whether kidney transplantation improves cardiac sympathetic nervous system function.
Akashi et al. used 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy to uncover significant clues to the origins of reversible left ventricular dysfunction in patients with “takotsubo” cardiomyopathy.
Slomka et al. introduce a novel “motion-frozen” technique to improve the image quality and accuracy of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT by eliminating the influence of cardiac left ventricular motion on display and quantification.
Whone et al. discuss the results of a large, multiinstitutional study of 18F-DOPA PET scans of patients with Parkinson’s disease, in an effort to provide centralized assessment of biomarkers of disease progression and therapy.
Levivier et al. outline a technique that allows routine integration of functional PET data with stereotactic γ-knife neurosurgery in the treatment of brain tumors.
Simonian et al. report on a dual-isotope technique for simultaneous measurement of gastric emptying and accommodation in a single test that could prove beneficial for patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms.
Becherer et al. compare 18F-FDOPA PET and 111In-labeled somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in imaging and staging of neuroendocrine tumors.
de Jong et al. critique the assumption of homogeneous renal radioactivity in dose calculations for injected tracers and note the inadequacy of these assumptions for calculations in peptide receptor radionuclide therapy.
Kushner presents a continuing education review of clinical presentation, staging, prognosis, treatment, and nuclear medicine imaging options in neuroblastoma.
Tatsumi et al. report on the result of a study in rodents suggesting that drugs and environmental conditions can affect the high 18F-FDG uptake of brown adipose tissue and suggest that such variables be considered routinely.
Sakuma et al. look at 99mTc labeling of myocardial microthromboemboli to provide both diagnostic and prognostic information on patients undergoing primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.
Rusckowski et al. present evidence that 99mTc-labeled bacteriophages may exhibit specific binding to bacteria and bacterial fragments, suggesting the possibility of effective imaging for both diagnosis of infection and assessment of treatment.
Siaens et al. discuss the feasibility of and initial animal studies in SPECT of fungal infections with 123I-labeled chitinase, a bacterium-derived enzyme.
Rennen et al. investigate affinities to receptors on neutrophils and their suitability for infection imaging and suggest possible avenues for additional research.
Koppe et al. detail the characteristics of a range of radionuclides and their potential for use in radioimmunotherapy of small peritoneal metastases of colorectal origin.
Seltzer et al. provide new estimates for 11C-acetate dosimetry in dynamic whole-body PET, suggesting that current recommended limits can be raised to improve overall image quality and tumor detection.
González Trotter et al. assess the feasibility of quantitative murine 124I-antibody fragment PET using a large-bore clinical scanner that accommodates multiple animals simultaneously.
Ogawa et al. investigate the role of macrophages in 18F-FDG accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions and the utility of PET in identifying vulnerable plaques.
Liu et al. present a novel technique using 99mTc-glucarate high-resolution SPECT for assessing the severity of myocardial injury induced by ischemia–reperfusion and point to possible applications in kinetic studies of new myocardial imaging agents.
Konijnenberg et al. present a computational rat model to facilitate and standardize organ dosimetry studies of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and offer conclusions from initial calculations for 111In, 117Lu, and 90Y.
ON THE COVER
The “motion-frozen” technique improves the display and quantification of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT images. Three-dimensional phase-to-phase motion vectors are derived by sampling the epi- and endocardial surfaces. In this illustration of displacement vectors used in image warping, the end-systolic epicardial surface is shown with perfusion data represented in color. Displacement vectors (white) show local motion between end systole and end diastole. The end-diastolic position of the epicardial surface is marked with red points.