Publications by authors named "Eric Turcotte"

Radiosynoviorthesis is approved in several European countries and the United States to treat refractory synovitis in many inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, and other arthritic joint diseases. No radiopharmaceuticals for radiosynoviorthesis are currently approved in Canada. The aim of this Health Canada-approved trial was to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of radiosynoviorthesis.

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Aim: Pharmacological stimulation of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been hindered by ineffective activation or undesirable off-target effects. Oral administration of the maximal allowable dose of mirabegron (200 mg), a β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) agonist, has been effective in stimulating BAT thermogenesis and whole-body energy expenditure. However, this has been accompanied by undesirable cardiovascular effects.

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Aging is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and convincing data have shown that chronic low-grade inflammation, which develops with advanced age, contributes significantly to cardiovascular risk. The present study aimed to use F-FDG/F-NaF-PET/CT imaging to, respectively, gauge arterial inflammation and microcalcification in a healthy elderly population and to assess the potential benefits of a tyrosol- and hydroxytyrosol-rich diet on these two markers of atherosclerotic plaque fragility. Eleven healthy participants (mean age 75 ± 5.

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Arterial inflammation is an indicator of atheromatous plaque vulnerability to detach and to obstruct blood vessels in the heart or in the brain thus causing heart attack or stroke. To date, it is difficult to predict the plaque vulnerability. This study was aimed to assess the behavior of 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in the aorta and iliac arteries as a function of plaque density on CT images.

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Background: Detection of skeletal metastases in patients with prostate cancer or breast cancer remains a major clinical challenge. We aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of Tc-methylene diphosphonate (Tc-MDP) single-photon emission CT (SPECT) and F-sodium fluoride (F-NaF) PET-CT for the detection of osseous metastases in patients with high-risk prostate or breast cancer.

Methods: MITNEC-A1 was a prospective, multicentre, single-cohort, phase 3 trial conducted in ten hospitals across Canada.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diets high in added sugars are linked to metabolic diseases and can alter the microbiome, which might affect brown adipose tissue (BAT) function.
  • This study aimed to explore how high-glucose and high-fructose diets influence BAT's ability to generate heat and how these diets impact the gut microbiome.
  • Results revealed that high-fructose diets decrease BAT's glucose uptake, but do not affect its thermogenesis or change the gut microbiome, suggesting early metabolic issues from excessive fructose consumption.
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Cyclotron production of Ga is a promising approach to supply Ga radiopharmaceuticals. To validate this capability, an integrated solution for a robust synthesis of Ga-DOTATATE prepared from cyclotron-produced Ga was achieved. A retrospective comparison analysis was performed on patients who underwent PET/CT imaging after injection of DOTATATE labeled with Ga produced by a cyclotron or eluted from a generator to demonstrate the clinical safety and diagnostic efficacy of the radiopharmaceutical as a routine standard-of-care diagnostic tool in the clinic.

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Excessive lean tissue uptake of fatty acids (FAs) is important in the development of insulin resistance and may be caused by impaired dietary FA (DFA) storage and/or increased nonesterified FA (NEFA) flux from adipose tissue intracellular lipolysis. Cardiac and hepatic total postprandial FA uptake of NEFA+DFA has, however, never been reported in prediabetes with overweight. In this study, 20 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 19 participants with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and normal fasting glucose underwent postprandial studies with whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with oral [18F]fluoro-thia-heptadecanoic acid and dynamic PET/CT with intravenous [11C]palmitate.

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The advent of deep-learning has set new standards in an array of image translation applications. At present, the use of these methods often requires computer programming experience. Non-commercial programs with graphical interface usually do not allow users to fully customize their deep-learning pipeline.

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Background: Accurate QSPECT is crucial in dosimetry-based, personalized radiopharmaceutical therapy with Lu and other radionuclides. We compared the quantitative performance of three NaI(Tl)-crystal SPECT/CT systems equipped with low-energy high-resolution collimators from two vendors (Siemens Symbia T6; GE Discovery 670 and NM/CT 870 DR).

Methods: Using up to 14 GBq of Tc in planar mode, we determined the calibration factor and dead-time constant under the assumption that these systems have a paralyzable behaviour.

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Objective: To determine the prevalence of intra-patient inter-metastatic heterogeneity based on positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and to determine the prevalence of neuroendocrine disease in these patients and their eligibility for radioligand therapies (RLTs).

Patients And Methods: This multicentre observational prospective clinical study will include 100 patients with mCRPC from five Canadian academic centres. Patients with radiological or biochemical progression and harbouring at least three metastases by conventional imaging will be accrued.

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This article reports the preliminary results of a phase II clinical trial investigating the use of the estrogen receptor (ER)-targeting PET tracer 4-fluoro-11β-methoxy-16α-F-fluoroestradiol (F-4FMFES) and F-FDG PET in endometrial cancers. In parallel, noninvasive interventions were attempted to slow progression of F-4FMFES metabolites in the intestines to reduce abdominal background uptake. In an ongoing study, 25 patients who received prior pathologic confirmation of an ER-positive endometrial cancer or endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia agreed to participate in the ongoing clinical trial.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Primary cardiac paragangliomas are rare tumors, and treating metastatic cases is particularly challenging, with options like radiation therapy and systemic treatments available.
  • - A 47-year-old man with an unresectable cardiac paraganglioma was successfully treated using Lu-DOTATATE peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), leading to significant improvements in symptoms and a notable progression-free survival of 13 months.
  • - This case highlights the efficacy and safety of Lu-DOTATATE PRRT for patients with inoperable cardiac paragangliomas, suggesting it could be an important treatment option for similar cases.
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The mechanism of increased postprandial nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) appearance in the circulation in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is due to increased adipose tissue lipolysis but could also be contributed to by reduced adipose tissue (AT) dietary fatty acid (DFA) trapping and increased "spillover" into the circulation. Thirty-one subjects with IGT (14 women, 17 men) and 29 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT, 15 women, 14 men) underwent a meal test with oral and intravenous palmitate tracers and the oral [F]-fluoro-thia-heptadecanoic acid positron emission tomography method. Postprandial palmitate appearance (Ra) was higher in IGT versus NGT ( < 0.

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Background: Yttrium-90 (90Y) is approved in several countries as a radiosynoviorthesis agent in the intra-articular treatment of synovitis, however, no such radiopharmaceuticals are approved in Canada. The aim of this Health Canada-approved study was to examine the safety and efficacy of 90Y synovectomy among patients with refractory synovitis.

Methods: We performed a subset analysis of a prospective, phase III, single-arm, pan-Canadian trial.

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A 19-year-old woman presented with a primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma invading the superior vena cava with associated thrombosis of the left brachiocephalic and subclavian vein. She underwent thrombolysis followed by chemotherapy. The midtreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated important regression of the primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, but showed intense focal hepatic uptake in segment IV, without a corresponding lesion on ultrasonography, non-contrast-enhanced low-dose CT, and MRI.

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Stimulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in humans has emerged as an attractive target to improve metabolic health. Pharmacological stimulations targeting the β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR), the adrenergic receptor believed to mediate BAT thermogenesis, have historically performed poorly in human clinical trials. Here we report that, in contrast to rodents, human BAT thermogenesis is not mediated by the stimulation of β-AR.

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Purpose: A retrospective analysis was performed of preclinical and clinical data acquired during the evaluation of the estrogen receptor (ER) PET tracer 4-fluoro-11β-methoxy-16α-[F]-fluoroestradiol (4FMFES) and its comparison with 16α-[F]-fluoroestradiol (FES) in mice, rats, and humans with a focus on the brain uptake.

Procedures: Breast cancer tumor-bearing female BALB/c mice from a previous study and female Sprague-Dawley rats (control and ovariectomized) were imaged by 4FMFES or FES-PET imaging. Immediately after, low-dose CT was performed in the same bed position.

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Background: Nuclear medicine is on the constant search of precision radiopharmaceutical approaches to improve patient management. Although discordant expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in breast cancer is a known dilemma for appropriate patient management, traditional tumor sampling is often difficult or impractical. While 2-deoxy-2[F]fluoro-D-glucose (F-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) is an option to detect subclinical metastases, it does not provide phenotype information.

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Background: White matter energy supply to oligodendrocytes and the axonal compartment is crucial for normal axonal function. Although gray matter glucose hypometabolism is extensively reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD), glucose and ketones, the brain's two main fuels, are rarely quantified in white matter in AD.

Objective: Using a dual-tracer PET method combined with a fascicle-specific diffusion MRI approach, robust to white matter hyper intensities and crossing fibers, we aimed to quantify both glucose and ketone metabolism in specific white matter fascicles associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 51) and AD (n = 13) compared to cognitively healthy age-matched controls (Controls; n = 14).

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Reduced storage of dietary fatty acids (DFAs) in abdominal adipose tissues with enhanced cardiac partitioning has been shown in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and prediabetes. We measured DFA metabolism and organ partitioning using positron emission tomography with oral and intravenous long-chain fatty acid and glucose tracers during a standard liquid meal in 12 obese subjects with T2D before and 8-12 days after bariatric surgery (sleeve gastrectomy or sleeve gastrectomy and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch). Bariatric surgery reduced cardiac DFA uptake from a median (standard uptake value [SUV]) 1.

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Increased myocardial partitioning of dietary fatty acids (DFA) and decreased left ventricular (LV) function is associated with insulin resistance in prediabetes. We hypothesized that enhanced myocardial DFA partitioning and reduced LV function might be induced concomitantly with reduced insulin sensitivity upon a 7-day hypercaloric (+50% in caloric intake), high-saturated fat (~11%energy), and simple carbohydrates (~54%energy) diet (HIGHCAL) versus an isocaloric diet (ISOCAL) with a moderate amount of saturated fat (~8%energy) and carbohydrates (~50%energy). Thirteen healthy subjects (7 men/6 women) underwent HIGHCAL versus ISOCAL in a randomized crossover design, with organ-specific DFA partitioning and LV function measured using the oral 14()-[F]fluoro-6-thia-heptadecanoic acid and [C]acetate positron emission tomography methods at the end of both interventions.

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Introduction: Unlike for glucose, uptake of the brain's main alternative fuel, ketones, remains normal in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Ketogenic medium chain triglycerides (kMCTs) could improve cognition in MCI by providing the brain with more fuel.

Methods: Fifty-two subjects with MCI were blindly randomized to 30 g/day of kMCT or matching placebo.

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We aimed to longitudinally assess the relationship between changing brain energy metabolism (glucose and acetoacetate) and cognition during healthy aging. Participants aged 71 ± 5 year underwent cognitive evaluation and quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at baseline ( = 25) and two ( = 25) and four ( = 16) years later. During the follow-up, the rate constant for brain extraction of glucose (K) declined by 6%-12% mainly in the temporo-parietal lobes and cingulate gyri ( ≤ 0.

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