ACR-ASNR Practice Parameter for Brain PET/CT Imaging Dementia.

This practice parameter is for both FDG and amyloid brain PET or PET/computed tomography (CT) for patients with cognitive decline, and has been developed collaboratively by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the American Society for Neuroradiology (ASNR). It is estimated that the number of people with dementia, 36.5 million worldwide in 2010, will increase to 65.

Interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinic: The Emory University Experience.

In this article, we share our experience in establishing a clinic-based practice for MR imaging-guided interventions. Clinic resources and operational logistics are described and our institutional cost analysis for supporting the clinic activity is provided. We highlight the overall value of the clinic model in transitioning the field of interventional MR imaging from the "proof-of-concept" to the "working model" era and engage in a detailed discussion of our experience with the positive impact of the clinic on streamlining the procedural workflow, increasing awareness of the technology, expanding referral bases, and boosting the satisfaction of both patients and referring services.

The role of imaging in United States courtrooms.

The rapid evolution of brain imaging techniques has increasingly offered more detailed diagnostic and prognostic information about neurologic and psychiatric disorders and the structural and functional brain changes that may influence behavior. Coupled with these developments is the increasing use of neuroimages in courtrooms, where they are used as evidence in criminal cases to challenge a defendant's competency or culpability and in civil cases to establish physical injury or toxic exposure. Several controversies exist, including the admissibility of neuroimages in legal proceedings, the reliability of expert testimony, and the appropriateness of drawing conclusions in individual cases based on the findings of research uses of imaging technology.

Measurement of 5-HT1A receptor binding in depressed adults before and after antidepressant drug treatment using positron emission tomography and [11C]WAY-100635.

Objective: To assess effects of chronic antidepressant drug treatment on serotonin type-1A receptor (5-HT(1A)R) binding potential (BP) in major depressive disorder.

Methods: Depressed subjects (n = 27) were imaged using PET and [(11)C]WAY-100635 at baseline and following a median of 9.4 weeks of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or dual reuptake inhibitor antidepressant agents.

Ventricular volume and dementia progression in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Elevated cerebral ventricular volume may be associated with dementia risk and progression. A fully-automated technique that agreed highly with radiological readings was used to estimate lateral ventricle volume on MR scans done at baseline in 1997-99 of 377 subjects in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) from the Pittsburgh Center. 327 subjects were normal or diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at baseline and were evaluated 4 years later.

Three-dimensional patterns of hippocampal atrophy in mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To measure hippocampal volumes in patients diagnosed as having subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) relative to those of elderly control subjects and those of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) using 3-dimensional mesh reconstructions.

Design: A magnetic resonance imaging volumetric study of MCI subgroups (MCI, amnesic subtype [MCI-A]; and MCI, multiple cognitive domain subtype) using 3-dimensional mesh reconstructions of the structure.

Setting: Referral dementia clinic.

Differential cortical atrophy in subgroups of mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To compare gray matter brain volumes in patients diagnosed with subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (those with a focal amnestic disorder and those with more diffuse cognitive dysfunction) with those of elderly controls.

Design: Magnetic resonance imaging volumetric study of MCI subgroups (MCI-amnestic [MCI-A], and MCI-multiple cognitive domain [MCI-MCD]) using a whole brain voxel-based analysis.

Setting: Referral dementia clinic.

Atlas-based hippocampus segmentation in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

This study assesses the performance of public-domain automated methodologies for MRI-based segmentation of the hippocampus in elderly subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Structural MR images of 54 age- and gender-matched healthy elderly individuals, subjects with probable AD, and subjects with MCI were collected at the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Hippocampi in subject images were automatically segmented by using AIR, SPM, FLIRT, and the fully deformable method of Chen to align the images to the Harvard atlas, MNI atlas, and randomly selected, manually labeled subject images ("cohort atlases").

Gender differences in a fenfluramine-activated FDG PET study of borderline personality disorder.

Neuroimaging studies of impulsive-aggressive subjects with borderline personality disorder (BPD) demonstrate hypometabolism in areas of prefrontal and frontal cortex, and a blunted cortical metabolic response to challenge with serotonergic agonists. Neuroendocrine responses to serotonergic challenge are known to vary greatly by gender, and may be related to sex differences in expression of impulsive aggression. We conducted single-blind, placebo-controlled fenfluramine-activated positron emission tomography (PET) studies in impulsive male and female subjects with BPD to look for gender differences in cortical response.

Serotonin 1A receptor binding and treatment response in late-life depression.

Depression in late life carries an increased risk of dementia and brittle response to treatment. There is growing evidence to support a key role of the serotonin type 1A (5-HT(1A)) receptor as a regulator of treatment response, particularly the 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). We used [11C]WAY 100635 and positron emission tomography (PET) to test our hypothesis that 5-HT(1A) receptor binding in the DRN and prefrontal cortex is altered in elderly depressives and that these measures relate to treatment responsivity.

The nature and determinants of neuropsychological functioning in late-life depression.

Context: Cognitive impairment in late-life depression (LLD) is highly prevalent, disabling, poorly understood, and likely related to long-term outcome.

Objectives: To determine the characteristics and determinants of neuropsychological functioning LLD.

Design: Cross-sectional study of groups of LLD patients and control subjects.

Positron emission tomography imaging of the aging brain.

PET imaging provides a vital means to study the human brain in vivo in aging and early disease states. PET studies using selective markers for brain metabolism and neurotransmitter function have uncovered a wealth of information on healthy and pathologic brain aging, and its relationship to behavior and mood states. Recognition of inherent potential confounds in the use of PET in aging studies is essential to the proper interpretation of these data.

The ECAT ART Scanner for Positron Emission Tomography. 2. Research and Clinical Applications.

The ECAT ART is a low-cost positron emission tomography (PET) scanner design for which increasing interest in the use of PET, and specifically (18)FDG PET for oncological studies, has stimulated a demand. Although targeted primarily for the clinical market, the performance of the ART scanner can also meet the demands of a research environment where, in addition to [(18)F], more challenging, shorter-lived isotopes such as [(11)C], [(13)N] and [(15)O] are used. The ART has been used successfully to perform quantitative (18)FDG studies, blood flow measurements with [(15)O]water, and brain mapping studies with [(15)O]water (activation).

Widespread increases of cortical serotonin type 2A receptor availability after hormone therapy in euthymic postmenopausal women.

Objective: To use statistical parametric mapping to determine the extent of previously reported serotonin type 2A (5HT(2A)) receptor binding potential (BP) increases in postmenopausal women following hormone therapy.

Design: Repeated measures positron emission tomography (PET) study.

Setting: Academic research environment.

PET/CT imaging in recurrent head and neck cancer.

PET/CT offers advantages over PET alone, which is limited by poor anatomic localization and CT alone, which provides morphologic data only. Retrospective fusion of separately acquired PET and CT images allows for potential fusion misregistration in the mobile head and neck between imaging sessions. Indications for PET/CT include recurrent neoplasm, tumor surveillance, and staging.

Heterogeneity of microvascular dysfunction in women with chest pain not attributable to coronary artery disease: implications for clinical practice.

Background: Women with chest pain in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) frequently have coronary microvascular dysfunction and inducible myocardial ischemia. Microvascular dysfunction is commonly diagnosed by demonstrating abnormal flow reserve in a single coronary artery during angiography. Therefore, diagnostic accuracy is dependent on homogeneity of microvascular dysfunction in the myocardium.

Neuronal transplantation for motor stroke: from the laboratory to the clinic.

Laboratory studies have established the potential for neuronal transplantation to be of benefit to patients. Experimental studies in normal animals indicate that brain implantation of neurons seems safe. Implanted neurons integrated with the host brain, sent out axonal processes to communicate with other nerve cells, released transmitters (the chemical messengers of nerve cell communication), and demonstrated typical neuronal proteins.

MR atlas of the baboon brain for functional neuroimaging.

Mathematical co-registration of functional image data (e.g., positron emission tomography, PET) to anatomical magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data allows for objective associations between function and anatomy.

Brain morphometric abnormalities in geriatric depression: long-term neurobiological effects of illness duration.

Objective: The authors' goal was to compare regional brain volumes in depressed elderly subjects with those of nondepressed elderly subjects by using voxel-based morphometry.

Method: They used statistical parametric mapping to analyze magnetic resonance imaging scans from 30 depressed patients 59 to 78 years old and 47 nondepressed comparison subjects 55 to 81 years old.

Results: Depressed patients had smaller right hippocampal volume than comparison subjects.

Physiologic uterine uptake of FDG during menstruation demonstrated with serial combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography.

F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has been used extensively to stage, restage, and follow neoplastic disease. However, focal accumulation of FDG may cause false-positive results in certain physiologic conditions. In this report, a unique PET and computed tomography (CT) combination scan helped define physiologic accumulation of FDG in the uterus during menstruation in a 40-year-old woman with a history of rectal melanoma and possible recurrent disease.