Added value of FDG-PET for detection of progressive supranuclear palsy.

Background: Diagnostic criteria for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) include midbrain atrophy in MRI and hypometabolism in [F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) as supportive features. Due to limited data regarding their relative and sequential value, there is no recommendation for an algorithm to combine both modalities to increase diagnostic accuracy. This study evaluated the added value of sequential imaging using state-of-the-art methods to analyse the images regarding PSP features.

Age-Related Deficits in Binaural Hearing: Contribution of Peripheral and Central Effects.

Pure-tone audiograms often poorly predict elderly humans' ability to communicate in everyday complex acoustic scenes. Binaural processing is crucial for discriminating sound sources in such complex acoustic scenes. The compromised perception of communication signals presented above hearing threshold has been linked to both peripheral and central age-related changes in the auditory system.

Automatic covariance pattern analysis outperforms visual reading of F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in variant progressive supranuclear palsy.

Background: To date, studies on positron emission tomography (PET) with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) usually included PSP cohorts overrepresenting patients with Richardson's syndrome (PSP-RS).

Objectives: To evaluate FDG-PET in a patient sample representing the broad phenotypic PSP spectrum typically encountered in routine clinical practice.

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter study included 41 PSP patients, 21 (51%) with RS and 20 (49%) with non-RS variants of PSP (vPSP), and 46 age-matched healthy controls.

Bifrontal electroconvulsive therapy leads to improvement of cerebral glucose hypometabolism in frontotemporal dementia with comorbid psychotic depression - a case report.

Background: Differentiating depression and dementia in elderly patients represents a major clinical challenge for psychiatrists. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for both conditions are often used cautiously due to fear of adverse effects. If a clinically indicated therapy is not initiated due to fear of adverse effects, the quality of life of affected patients may significantly be reduced.

Case report: Early-onset Parkinson's disease with initial spastic paraparesis and hyperreflexia caused by compound heterozygous -gene exon 2 and 4 deletions.

Pathogenic variants in the Parkin-gene () are among the most common genetic causes of early onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD). Patients with EOPD can present with atypical clinical features and misdiagnosis is frequent. Here, we report a clinical phenotype with atypical signs and symptoms of a 35-year-old male patient with EOPD caused by a compound heterozygous -gene deletion of exons 2 and 4.

An unusual presentation of Huntington's disease.

We describe the case of a 59-year-old woman who exhibited psychotic symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, and restlessness. While the clinical picture and 18F-FDG PET/CT suggested the presence of a tauopathy, especially frontotemporal dementia or progressive supranuclear palsy, genetic testing eventually revealed Huntington's disease.

Reduced microglia activity in patients with long-term immunosuppressive therapy after liver transplantation.

Purpose: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) can cause long-term impairment of brain function. Possible pathomechanisms include alterations of the cerebral immune system. This study used positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the translocator protein (TSPO) ligand F-GE-180 to evaluate microglial activation in liver-transplanted patients under different regimens of immunosuppression.

Combined Brain-Perfusion SPECT and EEG Measurements Suggest Distinct Strategies for Speech Comprehension in CI Users With Higher and Lower Performance.

Cochlear implantation constitutes a successful therapy of inner ear deafness, with the majority of patients showing good outcomes. There is, however, still some unexplained variability in outcomes with a number of cochlear-implant (CI) users, showing major limitations in speech comprehension. The current study used a multimodal diagnostic approach combining single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the mechanisms underlying speech processing in postlingually deafened CI users ( = 21).

Reliable quantification of F-GE-180 PET neuroinflammation studies using an individually scaled population-based input function or late tissue-to-blood ratio.

Purpose: Tracer kinetic modeling of tissue time activity curves and the individual input function based on arterial blood sampling and metabolite correction is the gold standard for quantitative characterization of microglia activation by PET with the translocator protein (TSPO) ligand F-GE-180. This study tested simplified methods for quantification of F-GE-180 PET.

Methods: Dynamic F-GE-180 PET with arterial blood sampling and metabolite correction was performed in five healthy volunteers and 20 liver-transplanted patients.

Severe Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) and Spontaneous Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) in an Immunocompetent Patient.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an opportunistic infection with JC-virus (JCV), a papova-virus, affecting mostly oligodendrocytes and the white matter of the central nervous system. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) almost exclusively occurs in immunocompromised patients based on different underlying conditions of severe cellular immunodeficiency such as HIV/AIDS, secondary to neoplastic and autoimmune diseases, or during immunosuppressive therapy. We present the case of an otherwise healthy and immunocompetent patient without immunosuppressive therapy who was admitted with hemianopsia to the right side, sensory aphasia and changes of behavior.

Characterization of Diffuse Gliomas With Histone H3-G34 Mutation by MRI and Dynamic 18F-FET PET.

Background: Recent data suggest that diffuse gliomas carrying mutations in codon 34 of the H3 histone family 3A protein represent a very rare, distinct subgroup of IDH-wild type malignant astrocytic gliomas. However, characteristics detectable by MRI and F-FET PET in H3-G34-mutant gliomas are unknown.

Methods: We report on MRI and F-FET PET findings in 8 patients from 4 German centers with H3-G34-mutant diffuse gliomas.

Visualization of the auditory pathway in rats with 18F-FDG PET activation studies based on different auditory stimuli and reference conditions including cochlea ablation.

Activation studies with positron emission tomography (PET) in auditory implant users explained some of the mechanisms underlying the variability of achieved speech comprehension. Since future developments of auditory implants will include studies in rodents, we aimed to inversely translate functional PET imaging to rats. In normal hearing rats, activity in auditory and non-auditory regions was studied using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET with 3 different acoustic conditions: sound attenuated laboratory background, continuous white noise and rippled noise.

Activation in the auditory pathway of the gerbil studied with F-FDG PET: effects of anesthesia.

Here, we present results from an F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) study in the Mongolian gerbil, a preferred animal model in auditory research. One major issue in preclinical nuclear imaging, as well as in most of the neurophysiological methods investigating auditory processing, is the need of anesthesia. We compared the usability of two types of anesthesia which are frequently employed in electrophysiology, ketamine/xylazine (KX), and fentanyl/midazolam/medetomidine (FMM), for valid measurements of auditory activation with F-FDG PET.

Feasibility of O-water PET studies of auditory system activation during general anesthesia in children.

Background: O-Water positron emission tomography (PET) enables functional imaging of the auditory system during stimulation via a promontory electrode or cochlear implant, which is not possible using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Although PET has been introduced in this context decades ago, its feasibility when performed during general anesthesia has not yet been explored. However, due to a shift to earlier (and bilateral) auditory implantation, the need to study children during general anesthesia appeared, since they are not able to cooperate during scanning.

Myocardial Inflammation Predicts Remodeling and Neuroinflammation After Myocardial Infarction.

Background: The local inflammatory tissue response after acute myocardial infarction (MI) determines subsequent healing. Systemic interaction may induce neuroinflammation as a precursor to neurodegeneration.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the influence of MI on cardiac and brain inflammation using noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) of the heart-brain axis.

Expert System for Bone Scan Interpretation Improves Progression Assessment in Bone Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Introduction: The bone scan index (BSI) was introduced as a quantitative tool for tumor involvement in bone of patients with metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa). The computer-aided diagnosis device for BSI analysis EXINIbone seems to represent technical progress for the quantitative assessment of bone involvement. But it is not yet clear if the automated BSI (aBSI) could contribute to improved evaluation of progression in patients under antiandrogens or chemotherapy in contrast to the visual interpretation and/or conventional biomarkers such as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

Effect of Deep Brain Stimulation on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Patients with Medically Refractory Tourette Syndrome.

In this study, alterations in brain perfusion have been investigated in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) compared with control subjects. In addition, we investigated the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in both globus pallidus internus (GPi) and centromedian-parafascicular/ventralis oralis internus nuclei of the thalamus (CM/Voi) and sham (SHAM) stimulation on cerebral blood flow. In a prospective controlled, randomized, double-blind setting, five severely affected adult patients with TS with predominant motor or vocal tics (mean total tic score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale: 39) underwent serial brain perfusion single photon emission computed tomography with (99m)Tc-ECD.

Diagnostic accuracy of cadmium-zinc-telluride-based myocardial perfusion SPECT: impact of attenuation correction using a co-registered external computed tomography.

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT)-based attenuation correction (AC) improves the accuracy of standard myocardial perfusion SPECT. Most dedicated cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) SPECT cameras are not equipped with an integrated CT component. We aimed to determine the impact of AC on diagnostic performance of CZT SPECT using co-registration with an external low-dose CT.

A randomized, double-blind, crossover comparison of novel continuous bed motion versus traditional bed position whole-body PET/CT imaging.

Purpose: Continuous bed motion has recently been introduced for whole-body PET/CT, and represents a paradigm shift towards individualized and flexible acquisition without the limitations of bed position-based planning. Increased patient comfort due to lack of abrupt table position changes may be another albeit still unproven advantage. For robust clinical implementation, image quality and quantitative accuracy should at least be equal to the prior standard of bed position-based step-and-shoot imaging.

CSF Levels of Angiopoietin-2 Do Not Differ between Patients with CSF Fluid Leakage Syndrome and Controls.

CSF abnormalities have been reported in CSF leakage syndrome. However, the mechanism for these CSF changes is actually unknown and they may indicate impaired CSF flow or blood-CSF barrier. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a protein which is expressed and released by endothelial cells, has been associated with increased vascular permeability.

Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Reveals Auditory and Frontal Cortical Regions Involved with Speech Perception and Loudness Adaptation.

Considerable progress has been made in the treatment of hearing loss with auditory implants. However, there are still many implanted patients that experience hearing deficiencies, such as limited speech understanding or vanishing perception with continuous stimulation (i.e.

Characterizing the inflammatory tissue response to acute myocardial infarction by clinical multimodality noninvasive imaging.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) triggers a systemic inflammatory response which determines subsequent healing. Experimentally, cardiac positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have been used successfully to obtain mechanistic insights. We explored the translational potential in patients early after MI.

Anti-leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 protein and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis show distinct patterns of brain glucose metabolism in 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography.

Background: Pathogenic autoantibodies targeting the recently identified leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 protein and the subunit 1 of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor induce autoimmune encephalitis. A comparison of brain metabolic patterns in 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography of anti-leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 protein and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis patients has not been performed yet and shall be helpful in differentiating these two most common forms of autoimmune encephalitis.

Methods: The brain 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake from whole-body positron emission tomography of six anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis patients and four patients with anti-leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 protein encephalitis admitted to Hannover Medical School between 2008 and 2012 was retrospectively analyzed and compared to matched controls.