Positron emission tomography imaging for vascular inflammation evaluation in elderly subjects with different risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

This study was aimed to investigate the usefulness of (18)F-FDG-PET to differentiate vascular inflammation and to determine the effect of rosuvastatin. Eight subjects were recruited and were divided according to their health status in three groups; 3 healthy subjects, 3 patients with hypercholesterolemia and 2 patients with stable angina pectoris. Hypercholesterolemic patients were submitted immediately after their recruitment to rosuvastatin treatment (20 mg/d).

Assessment of inflammation in large arteries with 18F-FDG-PET in elderly.

This paper presents repeated measurements of atherosclerosis using bimodality positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) to assess its uptake in aorta, iliac and femoral arteries in three groups of elderly subjects classified as normals (N), hypercholesterolemics (H) and with stable angina (A) in a 12 months follow-up (T0 to T12). The subjects in group H were taking rosuvastatin (20mg/d) for 12 months before the second scan. The calcifications in the arteries were determined by CT imaging and the artery PET images were analyzed slice by slice.