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Positron Emission Tomography Scanning (positron + emission_tomography_scanning)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Granulomatous mycosis fungoides with extensive chest wall involvement

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Jamie Von Nida
SUMMARY A 40-year-old woman presented with a 5-year history of a mass overlying her right pectoralis major muscle. Histopathology of the lesion revealed a florid granulomatous infiltrate including an atypical lymphocytic component with marked epidermotropism consistent with granulomatous mycosis fungoides. Staging investigations demonstrated the tumour to be localized to the right chest. Consequently, the patient was treated with radiotherapy (50 Gy) to the lesion with good clinical effect. However, she soon developed a clinically palpable lesion on the left chest outside the radiotherapy field. Positron emission tomography scanning demonstrated an extensive left-sided chest wall tumour and also residual tumour on the right. This left-sided lesion failed to respond to systemic chemotherapy. Further radiotherapy (50 Gy) has recently been administered to the left chest lesion; the response is being monitored. While granulomatous inflammation has been previously described in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, it is rare and is often associated with a delay in the diagnosis and difficulty with clinical staging. The clinical presentation can be extremely variable and consequently, diagnosis rests with histological features, immunohistochemical studies and gene rearrangement analysis. [source]

Clinical and imaging characterization of a patient with idiopathic progressive ataxia and palatal tremor

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 8 2007
R. Cilia
We describe clinical and imaging features of a patient with sporadic progressive ataxia and palatal tremor (PAPT) of unknown etiology. There was hypertrophy of bilateral inferior olivary nuclei with hyperintense T2-weighted signal and mild cerebellar atrophy at brain magnetic resonance imaging. 18F-fluoro-2-desoxy- d -glucose positron emission tomography scanning (FDG-PET) showed hypometabolism in the red nucleus, external globus pallidus and precuneus while FP-CIT-SPECT imaging revealed mild and progressive loss of striatal dopaminergic terminals. Our findings suggest that in idiopathic PAPT involvement of the dentato-rubro-olivary pathway occurs along with some dopaminergic dysfunction. [source]

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose,positron emission tomography scanning is more useful in followup than in the initial assessment of patients with Erdheim-Chester disease

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 10 2009
Laurent Arnaud
Objective Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare form of non,Langerhans' cell histiocytosis. The aim of this study was to assess the value of whole-body scanning with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose,positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in a large cohort of ECD patients from a single center. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all PET scans performed on 31 patients with ECD who were referred to our department between 2005 and 2008. PET images were reviewed by 2 independent nuclear medicine specialist physicians and were compared with other imaging modalities performed within 15 days of each PET scan. Results Thirty-one patients (10 women and 21 men; median age 59.5 years) underwent a total of 65 PET scans. Twenty-three patients (74%) were untreated at the time of the initial PET scan, whereas 30 of the 34 followup PET scans (88%) were performed in patients who were undergoing immunomodulatory therapy. Comparison of the initial and followup PET scans with other imaging modalities revealed that the sensitivity of PET scanning varied greatly among the different organs studied (range 4.3,100%), while the specificity remained high (range 69.2,100%). Followup PET scans were particularly helpful in assessing central nervous system (CNS) involvement, since the PET scan was able to detect an early therapeutic response of CNS lesions, even before magnetic resonance imaging showed a decrease in their size. PET scanning was also very helpful in evaluating the cardiovascular system, which is a major prognostic factor in ECD, by assessing the heart and the entire vascular tree during a single session. Conclusion The results of our large, single-center, retrospective study suggest that the findings of a FDG-PET scan may be interesting in the initial assessment of patients with ECD, but its greater contribution is in followup of these patients. [source]

Is 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning a reliable way to assess disease activity in takayasu arteritis?

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 4 2009
Laurent Arnaud
Objective 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose,positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scanning has been proposed as a new way of assessing disease activity in Takayasu arteritis (TA), but previous studies have used the nonvalidated National Institutes of Health (NIH) global activity criteria, and thus might be biased. This study was undertaken to determine the value of PET scanning for assessment of disease activity in TA, by comparing PET scan data with clinical, biologic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data assessed separately. Methods Twenty-eight patients with TA (according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria) underwent a total of 40 PET scans. Images were reviewed by 2 pairs of independent nuclear medicine physicians and assessed for pattern and intensity of vascular uptake. TA activity data were obtained within 15 days of the PET scans. Results PET scanning revealed abnormal vascular uptake in 47% of the 40 examinations. The uptake intensity grade was 0 in 7 scans, grade 1 in 7 scans, grade 2 in 13 scans, and grade 3 in 13 scans. Morphologic analysis was conducted by grading the pattern of the vascular uptake as diffuse (73%), segmental (20%), or focal (13%). There was a trend toward an association between clinically active disease and the semiquantitative assessment of FDG uptake (P = 0.08). We found no statistical association between levels of acute-phase reactants and intensity of uptake. There was no significant association between the semiquantitative assessment of FDG uptake and the presence of vascular wall thickening (P = 0.23), gadolinium uptake (P = 0.73), or the presence of vascular wall edema (P = 0.56). Conclusion Our findings indicate that there is no association between FDG vascular uptake intensity and clinical, biologic, or MRI assessment of disease activity. Previous studies using the nonvalidated NIH global activity criteria are likely biased. [source]