RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 18F-FDG PET Imaging of the Inferior Colliculus in Asymmetric Hearing Loss JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 418 OP 422 DO 10.2967/jnumed.119.231407 VO 61 IS 3 A1 Speck, Iva A1 Arndt, Susan A1 Thurow, Johannes A1 Blazhenets, Ganna A1 Aschendorff, Antje A1 Meyer, Philipp T. A1 Frings, Lars YR 2020 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/3/418.abstract AB Our purpose was to use PET to evaluate the glucose metabolism of the inferior colliculus (IC) and primary auditory cortex (PAC) in patients with asymmetric hearing loss (AHL). Methods: Normalized regional 18F-FDG uptake of the IC and PAC (reference: cerebellum) was assessed in 13 subjects with AHL using a fully digital clinical PET/CT system. Results: Regional metabolism of both the IC and the PAC was significantly reduced contralateral to the most hearing-impaired ear compared with the ipsilateral side. Duration of deafness correlated positively with metabolism of the contralateral PAC but not with metabolism of the ipsilateral PAC or either of the ICs. Conclusion: Fully digital, high-resolution clinical PET scanners allow for investigating small brain stem nuclei. AHL has a significant impact on the regional glucose metabolism of the auditory pathway. Mitigation of this effect by a longer duration of deafness might indicate reorganization at the cortical level.