PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Seung Hak Lee AU - Byung-Mo Oh AU - Gangpyo Lee AU - Hongyoon Choi AU - Gi Jeong Cheon AU - Shi-Uk Lee TI - Feasibility of <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET as a Noninvasive Diagnostic Tool of Muscle Denervation: A Preliminary Study AID - 10.2967/jnumed.114.140731 DP - 2014 Oct 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 1737--1740 VI - 55 IP - 10 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/10/1737.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/10/1737.full SO - J Nucl Med2014 Oct 01; 55 AB - The purpose of this study was to confirm glucose hypermetabolism in denervated muscle and investigate the feasibility of 18F-FDG PET scanning for the detection of muscle denervation. Method: A sciatic neuropathy model in rats was created by nerve resection of the left sciatic nerve and sham operation on the other side. Eight days after denervation, small-animal PET/CT scans of the hindlimbs were acquired. Muscle denervation was confirmed by electrophysiologic and histologic study. Results: All rats showed increased 18F-FDG uptake in the muscles of the left (denervated) lower legs. The calculated maximum lesion-to-normal counts ratio of the left lower leg anterolateral (left, 11.02 ± 2.08; right, 1.81 ± 0.40, n = 6, P &lt; 0.01) and posterior (left, 9.81 ± 4.58; right, 1.87 ± 0.44, n = 6, P &lt; 0.01) compartment were significantly increased. The electrophysiologic and histologic study verified muscle denervation. Conclusion: Glucose hypermetabolism in muscle denervation is an obvious phenomenon. 18F-FDG PET scanning can be used to visualize muscle denervation.