Comparison of MIBG uptake in the major salivary glands between Lewy body disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Introduction: Cardiac sympathetic denervation is specific to Lewy body disease (LBD). In Parkinson's disease (PD), sympathetic denervation in the major salivary glands (parotid glands [PG] and submandibular glands [SMG]) has been demonstrated by I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy. We compared sympathetic denervation in the MSG between PD, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Quantitative evaluation of striatal uptake ratios using an adaptive template registration method for I-ioflupane dopamine transporter SPECT.

Introduction: I-FP-CIT (I-Ioflupane) SPECT shows strong accumulation in the striatum, but morphological standardization is challenging due to low accumulation outside the striatum, particularly in subjects with marked striatal decline. In this study, morphological standardization without MRI was achieved using the adaptive template registration (ATR) method to create a subject-specific optimized template with weighted images of normal-type and egg-shape-type templates. The accuracy of a quantitative method for calculating the ratio with nonspecific accumulation in the occipital lobe was evaluated by placing voxels-of-interest (VOI) on standardized images, particularly targeting the striatum.

Clinical characteristics of patients with Parkinson's disease with reduced I-metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake in the major salivary glands and heart.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) shows cardiac sympathetic denervation (SD) in I-metaiodobezylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy. Recently, SD in the major salivary glands (MSG-SD) was introduced as a possible radiological feature of PD.

Objective: To identify the clinical characteristics of patients with PD with reduced MSG and cardiac MIBG uptake (dual-SD) compared with those with reduced MSG or cardiac MIBG uptake only (single-SD).

Reduced I-MIBG uptake in the parotid and submandibular glands in patients with Parkinson's disease identified using a quantitative semi-automatic method.

Objectives: To analyze I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) uptake in the parotid and submandibular glands in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in comparison with controls, and to compare MIBG uptake between those glands and the myocardium. Furthermore, we aimed to identify the relationships between clinical features and MIBG uptake.

Methods: We recruited 77 patients with PD and 21 age-matched controls.

Relationship Between F-fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake on Positron Emission Tomography and Aortic Calcification.

: Although F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has been widely utilized to assess the extent of inflammation, the association between the extent and severity of atherosclerosis and F-FDG uptake on PET remains unexamined. The current study aimed to investigate whether aortic calcium (AC) scores were associated with increased aortic uptake of F-FDG on PET. : A total of 167 consecutive patients with suspected lung cancer but unproven malignancy who underwent non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and F-FDG PET/CT were enrolled.

Evaluation of lung perfusion by using lung perfusion SPECT and lung CT with breathing synchronization software.

Background: Lung perfusion using Tc-macroaggregated albumin single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and lung computed tomography (CT) is a useful modality for identifying patients with pulmonary artery embolism. However, conformity between SPECT and CT at the bottom of the lung is generally low. This study aims to investigate the progression of conformity between lung perfusion SPECT and lung CT using a breathing synchronization software.

Consistency and prognostic value of preoperative staging and postoperative pathological staging using F-FDG PET/MRI in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: In recent years, positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) has been clinically used as a method to diagnose non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate the concordance of staging and prognostic ability of NSCLC patients using thin-slice computed tomography (CT) and F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/MRI.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed on consecutive NSCLC patients who underwent both diagnostic CT and F-FDG PET/MRI before surgery between November 2015 and May 2019.

Evaluation of balloon pulmonary angioplasty using lung perfusion SPECT in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) using lung perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Methods And Results: 20 consecutive patients (64 ± 15 years) who were diagnosed with CTEPH and underwent BPA were included in this study. All patients underwent lung perfusion SPECT before and after BPA.

The metabolic parameters based on volume in PET/CT are associated with clinicopathological N stage of colorectal cancer and can predict prognosis.

Background: A combination of positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) is an important modality for the diagnosis of carcinoma. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) have been reported as metabolic parameters in PET/CT since the late 1990s, and they are expected to be useful in diagnosing diverse cancers and as prognostic biomarkers. We evaluated the potential of these parameters in the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) by comparing them with conventional parameters, including the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax).

Prognostic values of coronary artery calcium score and I-BMIPP SPECT in patients with non-ischemic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

This study aimed to determine whether coronary artery calcium score (CACS) can be a prognostic indicator for the development of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) and compare the value of CACS with that of the I-betamethyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (I-BMIPP) defect score (BDS) in patients with non-ischemic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (NIHFpEF). Among 643 consecutive patients hospitalized due to acute heart failure, 108 (74 ± 13y) were identified to have NIHFpEF on non-contrast regular chest computed tomography and I-BMIPP single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We evaluated whether CACS and BDS were associated with MACEs using multivariate Cox models.

Multi-Atlas MRI-Based Striatum Segmentation for I-FP-CIT SPECT (DAT-SPECT) Compared With the Bolt Method and SPECT-Atlas-Based Segmentation Method Toward the Accurate Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease/Syndrome.

This study aimed to analyze the performance of multi-atlas MRI-based parcellation for I-FP-CIT SPECT (DAT-SPECT) in healthy volunteers. The proposed method was compared with the SPECT-atlas-based and Bolt methods. F-FE-PE2I-PET (DAT-PET) was used as a reference.

A prospective randomized study comparing effects of empagliflozin to sitagliptin on cardiac fat accumulation, cardiac function, and cardiac metabolism in patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes: the ASSET study.

Background: While the cardioprotective benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been established in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), their advantages over other anti-diabetic drugs at earlier stages remain unclear. We compared the cardioprotective effects of empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, with those of sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, focusing on cardiac fat accumulation, cardiac function, and cardiac metabolism in patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without CVD complications.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint, parallel-group trial that enrolled 44 Japanese patients with T2DM.

Diagnostic utility and characteristics of CT-based attenuation correction in brain perfusion SPECT/CT in predicting the exacerbation of Alzheimer changes from mild cognitive impairment utilizing voxel-based statistical analysis in comparison with Chang's method.

Objective: We examined the diagnostic value of brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using voxel-based statistical analysis with CT-based attenuation correction (CT-AC) by comparing it to that with Chang's AC in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and attempted to locate brain areas that are good indicators predicting the progression of MCI.

Methods: Twenty-six individuals matched for age, educational background and initial Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of more than 24 underwent SPECT with N-isopropyl-4-[I]iodoamphetamine and were assigned to 2 groups: the stable MCI (S-MCI) group comprising 11 subjects who maintained their MMSE score (mean 27.0) during at least a 1-year follow-up period (mean 37.

[The 41st Report on Survey of the Adverse Reaction to Radiopharmaceuticals (The 44th Survey in 2018)].

This survey was performed in order to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2018 in Japan. It was based on the responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. Replies were obtained from 999 institutions among 1,230 to which the questionnaire had been sent.

Full report on a survey of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals from 1975 to 2017 in Japan.

Objective: This pharmacovigilance-based survey was aimed at determining the prevalence of, and association between, radiopharmaceuticals and adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals from 1975 to 2017 in Japan.

Methods: The Subcommittee for Safety Issues of Radiopharmaceuticals of the Japan Radioisotope Association's Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Committee mailed a form for reporting adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals to all institutes performing nuclear medicine examinations in Japan. This investigation included adverse reactions to diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals labeled with both single-photon- and positron-emitting radionuclides and therapeutic sodium iodide labeled with I.

Prognostic value of Tc-ECD brain perfusion SPECT in patients with atrial fibrillation and dementia.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and dementia experience reduced quality of life and increased mortality. Technetium 99m ECD brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (Tc-ECD brain perfusion SPECT) is a beneficial modality for diagnosing dementia and identifying high-risk patients with mild cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of brain perfusion using Tc-ECD SPECT in patients with AF and dementia.

Differentiation Between Dementia With Lewy Bodies And Alzheimer's Disease Using Voxel-Based Morphometry Of Structural MRI: A Multicenter Study.

Background: The differential diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is particularly important because DLB patients respond better to cholinesterase inhibitors but sometimes exhibit sensitivity to neuroleptics, which may cause worsening of clinical status. Antemortem voxel-based morphometry (VBM) using structural MRI has previously revealed that patients with DLB have normal hippocampal volume, but atrophy in the dorsal mesopontine area.

Objectives: The aim of this multicenter study was to determine whether VBM of the brain stem in addition to that of medial temporal lobe structures improves the differential diagnosis of AD and DLB.

Measurement of cerebral vascular reserves with I-123 IMP SPECT without an arterial input function using the microsphere model and radiopharmaceutical dose calibration.

Objectives: Cerebral vascular reserve (CVR) is an important indicator for the management of and therapy for cerebral arterial occlusive disease (CAOD). Vasodilatory function is measured using the standard IMP-ARG method. The IMP autoradiography (IMP-ARG) method employed here uses a standardized input function, which was derived from 12 patients between 31 and 71 years of age.

Prognostic values of I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy and heart rate variability in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic values of sympathetic nerve system using I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy and using Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Methods And Results: Among 403 consecutive patients with stable HF who underwent I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy and Holter ECG, we identified 133 patients (64 ± 16 years) who had preserved ejection fraction (≥ 50%) by echocardiography. Multivariate Cox model was used to assess if washout rate (WR) by I-MIBG scintigraphy and very low frequency power (VLFP) by Holter ECG was associated with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Improvement in the measurement error of the specific binding ratio in dopamine transporter SPECT imaging due to exclusion of the cerebrospinal fluid fraction using the threshold of voxel RI count.

Objective: In Japan, the Southampton method for dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT is widely used to quantitatively evaluate striatal radioactivity. The specific binding ratio (SBR) is the ratio of specific to non-specific binding observed after placing pentagonal striatal voxels of interest (VOIs) as references. Although the method can reduce the partial volume effect, the SBR may fluctuate due to the presence of low-count areas of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), caused by brain atrophy, in the striatal VOIs.

[The 38th Report on Survey of the Adverse Reaction to Radiopharmaceuticals (The 41st Survey in 2015)].

This survey was performed to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2015 in Japan. It was based on the responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. The reply was obtained from 981 institutions among 1,274 to which the questionnaire had been sent.

Prognostic Value of I-BMIPP SPECT in Patients with Nonischemic Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Imaging of myocardial fatty acid metabolism using I-betamethyl--iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (I-BMIPP) SPECT is useful for identifying high-risk patients with known ischemic heart disease. However, its utility for patients who have nonischemic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is not well known. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the I-BMIPP defect score in such patients.

Intraoperative middle cerebral artery pressure measurements during superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery bypass procedures in patients with cerebral atherosclerotic disease.

OBJECTIVE No previous study has monitored middle cerebral artery (MCA) pressure during the superficial temporal artery (STA)-MCA bypass procedure for cerebral atherosclerotic disease. In this paper, the authors describe their method of monitoring MCA pressure and report their initial data on intraoperative MCA pressure and its relationship with hemodynamics prior to and after the bypass procedures. METHODS The results from a total of 39 revascularization procedures performed between 2004 and 2014 were analyzed.