Myocardial perfusion and glucose uptake coupling in CAD patients.

Purpose: To evaluate coronary artery disease (CAD) patients regarding to their perfusion-glucose uptake relationship at rest for all myocardial regions and to determine whether this evaluation could typify patients with different positron emission tomography (PET)-pattern proportions and pathophysiological characteristics.

Methods: Rest/dipyridamole H(15)2O and 18FDG PET studies were performed in 23 patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Regional index (relative perfusion, %H(15)2O; relative glucose uptake, %18FDG) allowed to detect PERFUSION-metabolism mismatch (i.

Tissue distribution, autoradiography, and metabolism of 4-(2'-methoxyphenyl)-1-[2' -[N-2"-pyridinyl)-p-[(18)F]fluorobenzamido]ethyl]piperazine (p-[(18)F]MPPF), a new serotonin 5-HT(1A) antagonist for positron emission tomography: An In vivo study in rats.

The in vivo behavior of 4-(2'-methoxyphenyl)-1-[2'-[N-(2"-pyridinyl)-p-[(18)F]fluorobenzamido ]ethyl]-piperazine (p-[(18)F]MPPF), a new serotonin 5-HT(1A) antagonist, was studied in awake, freely moving rats. Biodistribution studies showed that the carbon-fluorine bond was stable in vivo, that this compound was able to cross the blood-brain barrier, and that a general diffusion equilibrium could account for the availability of the tracer. The great quantity of highly polar metabolites found in plasma did not contribute to the small amounts of metabolites found in hippocampus, frontal cortex, and cerebellum.

A video study of Australian domestic food-handling practices.

Poor food-handling and hygiene practices in domestic kitchens are thought to be the cause of a significant amount of foodborne illness. Food-handling practices were studied by video observation in 40 home kitchens in Melbourne, Australia. Participant households included those of single people, couples, and families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.

The relation of putamen and caudate nucleus 18F-Dopa uptake to motor and cognitive performances in Parkinson's disease.

The contribution of striatal (caudate nucleus-putamen) dopaminergic deficiency to the severity of motor signs is well established in Parkinson's disease (PD), while its role in the occurrence of cognitive and mood changes remains unresolved. We therefore measured in 27 non-demented PD patients and 10 age-matched controls striatal uptake of [18F]-6-fluoro-L-Dopa (F-Dopa) with PET, and mood (Beck depression), memory (Grober-Buschke), frontal executive functions (verbal fluency and Wisconsin card sorting), and attentional processing of sensory stimuli (N2-P3 auditory event-related potentials--ERPs). Locomotor disability of patients was assessed by Hoehn and Yahr score and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).

A National Australian Food Safety Telephone Survey.

A sample of 1,203 randomly selected Australian households participated in a national telephone food safety survey. All respondents were aged 18 years or over, were the main grocery buyers of the household, purchased red meat products at least once a month, and regularly prepared food in the household. There were significant gaps observed in the food safety knowledge of many respondents surveyed.

Neuroanatomical correlates of visually evoked sexual arousal in human males.

Brain areas activated in human male sexual behavior have not been characterized precisely. For the first time, positron emission tomography (PET) was used to identify the brain areas activated in healthy males experiencing visually evoked sexual arousal. Eight male subjects underwent six measurements of regional brain activity following the administration of [15O]H2O as they viewed three categories of film clips: sexually explicit clips, emotionally neutral control clips, and humorous control clips inducing positive but nonsexual emotions.

Functional anatomy of perceptual and semantic processing for odors.

The functional anatomy of perceptual and semantic processings for odors was studied using positron emission tomography (PET). The first experiment was a pretest in which 71 normal subjects were asked to rate 185 odorants in terms of intensity, familiarity, hedonicity, and comestibility and to name the odorants. This pretest was necessary to select the most appropriate stimuli for the different cognitive tasks of the second experiment.

Paradoxical metabolic response of the human brain to a single electroconvulsive shock.

Regional brain protein synthesis was evaluated with positron emission tomography (PET) and L-(S-[11C]methyl)methionine ([11C]MET) in depressive patients, before and 3 h after an electroconvulsive shock (ECS), when energy supply is restored, and in healthy volunteers. Depressive patients presented apparent lower protein synthesis than normals, in agreement with known reduction of cerebral activity. In contrast, ECS resulted in a significant increase (56%, P < 0.

High-yield radiosynthesis and preliminary in vivo evaluation of p-[18F]MPPF, a fluoro analog of WAY-100635.

No-carrier-added 4-[18F]fluoro-N-[2-[1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1 piperazinyl]ethyl-N-2-pyridinyl-benzamide (p-[18F]MPPF) was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of the corresponding nitro compound in the presence of Kryptofix 222 and K2CO3 by microwave heating (3 min, 500 W) using a remotely controlled radiosynthesis. Baseline separation of p-[18F]MPPF from the nitro derivative was performed on a semipreparative HPLC C18 column. After Sep-Pak formulation, the radiopharmaceutical was obtained with a radiochemical yield of 25% (EOS) in about 70 min.

Combined study of cerebral glucose metabolism and [11C]methionine accumulation in probable Alzheimer's disease using positron emission tomography.

There is a characteristic decrease in glucose metabolism in associative frontal and temporo-parietal cortices of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD). The decrease in metabolism might result from local neuronal loss or from a decrease of synaptic activity. We measured in vivo [11C]methionine accumulation into proteins with positron emission tomography (PET) to assess cortical tissue loss in AD.

Brain activation induced by estimation of duration: a PET study.

Duration information about a visual stimulus requires processing as do other visual features such as size or intensity. Using positron emission tomography, iterative H215O infusions, and statistical parametric mapping, we investigated the neural correlates of time processing. Nine normal subjects underwent six serial rCBF.

Serotonin 5HT2 receptor imaging in the human brain using positron emission tomography and a new radioligand, [18F]altanserin: results in young normal controls.

Changes in serotonin-2 receptors have been demonstrated in brain autopsy material from patients with various neurodegenerative and affective disorders. It would be desirable to locate a ligand for the study of these receptors in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET). Altanserin is a 4-benzoylpiperidine derivative with a high affinity and selectivity for S2 receptors in vitro.

Radiation dosimetry for bolus administration of oxygen-15-water.

Unlabelled: We describe the development of a biokinetic model which permits an estimation of organ activities and the dosimetry of a bolus of 15O-water. The aim of this study was to estimate time-activity functions and deduce the cumulated activities in different organs so that the radiation absorbed dose values can be estimated.

Methods: The model we used includes the right heart chambers, lungs, left heart chamber, brain, liver, kidneys, muscles, gastrointestinal tract and the remainder of the body.

Enantioselective synthesis of 6-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-L-dopa from no-carrier-added fluorine-18-fluoride.

Methods: A trimethylammonium veratraldehyde triflate was synthesized and used as a precursor for the asymmetric synthesis of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa.

Results: Its nucleophilic fluorination with 18F-fluoride produced by the 18O(p,n)18F nuclear reaction on enriched 18O-water led to the corresponding no-carrier-added [18F]fluoroveratraldehyde (45 +/- 5% EOB). Diiodosilane was used to prepare the corresponding [18F]fluorobenzyl iodide (36.

Myocardial kinetics of potassium-38 in humans and comparison with copper-62-PTSM.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to define the kinetics of 38K and its suitability to evaluate myocardial blood flow at rest and during pharmacological vasodilation in normal subjects. Potassium-38's kinetic characteristics were also compared to those of a 62Cu-pyruvaldehyde bis(n4-methyl-thio-semicarbazone) copper (II) (PTSM) flow tracer.

Methods: Potassium-38 and 62Cu-PTSM were injected at rest and after pharmacological vasodilation in six healthy volunteers.

Differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with PET.

Unlabelled: PET studies have demonstrated bilateral temporo-parietal hypoperfusion and hypometabolism in probable and definite Alzheimer's disease (AD), a pattern that may help differentiate AD from other dementias.

Methods: To evaluate the diagnostic power of cerebral metabolic distribution patterns for "cortical" degenerative dementias, PET scans obtained from 129 patients referred for differential diagnosis of dementia were analyzed visually.

Results: Sixty-five patients had a final clinical diagnosis of probable AD.

Comparability of FDG PET studies in probable Alzheimer's disease.

Results of studies with positron emission tomography (PET) of 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were compared among three European centers with different PET scanners (in-plane resolution ranging between 6.75 mm and 9.2 mm).

Regional cerebral L-[14C-methyl]methionine incorporation into proteins: evidence for methionine recycling in the rat brain.

The specific activity (SA) of free methionine was measured in plasma and in different regions of the rat brain at 15, 30, or 60 min after intravenous infusion of L-[14C-methyl]methionine. Within these time periods, an apparent steady state of labeled free methionine in plasma and in brain was reached. However, the brain-to-plasma free methionine SA ratio was found to be approximately 0.

[Epidural analgesia after thoracic surgery: morphine versus buprenorphine].

A double-blind study was carried out to assess the efficiency and possible side-effects of a single epidural injection of either morphine or buprenorphine at equipotent doses after elective thoracic surgery. The series included 24 patients aged 53.7 +/- 11.

Positron emission tomography: standardisation of labelling procedures.

As positron emission tomography is becoming a very important tool to obtain metabolic images, we thought it useful to give recent EEC workshop reports on this subject greater circulation.

Human beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone revisited.

It is generally accepted that human beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (h beta MSH) does not normally exist in humans but was merely an artifactually generated 22-amino acid peptide corresponding to a lipotropin (LPH) fragment (residues 35-56). We examined whether the shorter 18-amino acid peptide h beta MSH-(5-22) could be detected in some human tissues. Normal human pituitaries and hypothalami as well as corticotropin-secreting pituitary and nonpituitary tumors were extracted and chromatographed on Sephadex G-50, and the fractions were measured with two radioimmunoassays using either a COOH-terminal human gamma LPH (h gamma LPH) antiserum that recognized equally h gamma LPH, h beta MSH, and h beta MSH-(5-22) or a mid-portion h gamma LPH antiserum that recognized h gamma LPH and h beta MSH but not h beta MSH-(5-22).

[76Br]bromolisuride: a new tool for quantitative in vivo imaging of D-2 dopamine receptors.

Bromolisuride, an ergoline derivative, was labeled with the positron emitter radionuclide, bromine 76. In vitro and in vivo binding and competition studies in rats demonstrated a high affinity (KD = 0.3 nM) and a high specificity of this new radioligand for D-2 dopamine receptors.

Crossed cerebellar diaschisis. Further studies.

To investigate further the topographical, clinical and temporal correlates of crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) after supratentorial stroke, 55 patients suffering from a single unilateral ischaemic stroke in the carotid artery territory were studied with the quantitative oxygen-15 steady-state technique and positron tomography. Fourteen patients had one or more follow-up studies, contributing a total of 72 studies. The phenomenon of CCD, defined by depressed oxygen consumption in the contralateral cerebellum, was statistically significant in 58% of the studies.