TY - JOUR T1 - <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET/MRI in Chronic Sciatica: Early Results Revealing Spinal and Nonspinal Abnormalities JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 967 LP - 972 DO - 10.2967/jnumed.117.198259 VL - 59 IS - 6 AU - Peter W. Cipriano AU - Daehyun Yoon AU - Harsh Gandhi AU - Dawn Holley AU - Dushyant Thakur AU - Brian A. Hargreaves AU - David J. Kennedy AU - Matthew W. Smuck AU - Ivan Cheng AU - Sandip Biswal Y1 - 2018/06/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/59/6/967.abstract N2 - Chronic sciatica is a major cause of disability worldwide, but accurate diagnosis of the causative pathology remains challenging. In this report, the feasibility of an 18F-FDG PET/MRI approach for improved diagnosis of chronic sciatica is presented. Methods: 18F-FDG PET/MRI was performed on 9 chronic sciatica patients and 5 healthy volunteers (healthy controls). Region-of-interest analysis using SUVmax was performed, and 18F-FDG uptake in lesions was compared with that in the corresponding areas in healthy controls. Results: Significantly increased 18F-FDG uptake was observed in detected lesions in all patients and was correlated with pain symptoms. 18F-FDG–avid lesions not only were found in impinged spinal nerves but also were associated with nonspinal causes of pain, such as facet joint degeneration, pars defect, or presumed scar neuroma. Conclusion: The feasibility of 18F-FDG PET/MRI for diagnosing pain generators in chronic sciatica was demonstrated, revealing various possible etiologies. ER -