Brain positron emission tomography in idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus: new 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose pattern in a long-known syndrome.

Aim: Patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) can show a global reduction in cerebral glucose metabolism at [ 18 F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET. The presence of caudate hypometabolism has been identified as a potential biomarker in iNPH, yet there is limited evidence of hypermetabolic findings in patients with iNPH so far.

Methods: We retrieved retrospectively patients with iNPH and normal cognitive assessment, evaluated before surgery undergoing brain [ 18 F]FDG-PET.

18F-FDG PET brain findings in disease-discordant monozygotic mosaic twins with Cri du Chat (5p-) syndrome.

We describe the first report on the genotype-phenotype patterns and [18F] fluoro-deoxygluycose (F-FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) findings in two disease-discordant monozygotic twins with Cri du Chat syndrome (CdcS) presenting deletion of 5p, 46, XY, del(5)(p14)/46, XY. One twin showed a severe phenotype; significant F-FDG PET hypometabolism (p=0.001) was revealed in the left and right hemispheres, thalamus, cerebellum, and midbrain, whereas hypermetabolism was detected in the left premotor cortex.

18F-FDG-PET brain imaging may highlight brain metabolic alterations in dysautonomic syndrome after human papilloma virus vaccination.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate brain glucose metabolism by means of [18F]-fluoro-deoxygluycose (F-FDG) PET in a group of patients presenting dysautonomic syndrome after human papilloma virus (HPV) immunization.

Methods: Medical records of patients, referred to the 'Second Opinion Medical Consulting Network' Medical Centre (Modena, Italy) diagnosed with dysautonomic syndrome were searched. Inclusion criteria were presence in the medical history of adverse drug reactions following HPV vaccine; a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score <25 and good quality of a F-FDG-PET brain scan performed within 12 months from the diagnosis of dysautonomic syndrome.

F-FDG PET Identifies Altered Brain Metabolism in Patients with Cri du Chat Syndrome.

Cri du chat syndrome (CDCS) is a rare genetic disease that is caused by a deletion in the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p) and has a variable clinical spectrum. To our knowledge, no study in the literature has ever applied F-FDG PET/CT to investigate alterations in brain glucose metabolism in these subjects. The aims of this study were to detect differences in brain F-FDG metabolism in CDCS patients with different clinical presentations and identify possible brain metabolic phenotypes of this syndrome.

Interplay between spinal cord and cerebral cortex metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

We recently reported the potential of Hough transform in delineating spinal cord metabolism by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scanning in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The present study aimed to verify the relationship between spinal cord and brain metabolism in 44 prospectively recruited patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis submitted to 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose brain and whole-body PET/CT. Patients were studied to highlight the presence of brain hypo- or hypermetabolism with respect to healthy controls, and multiple regression analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between spinal cord and brain metabolism.

Testing the diagnostic accuracy of [18F]FDG-PET in discriminating spinal- and bulbar-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Purpose: The role for [18F]FDG-PET in supporting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis is not fully established. In this study, we aim at evaluating [18F]FDG-PET hypo- and hyper-metabolism patterns in spinal- and bulbar-onset ALS cases, at the single-subject level, testing the diagnostic value in discriminating the two conditions, and the correlations with core clinical symptoms severity.

Methods: We included 95 probable-ALS patients with [18F]FDG-PET scan and clinical follow-up.

Locked-in Syndrome and F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography: Observations from a Case of Basilar Artery Thrombosis.

We report the case of a 59-year-old male patient suffering from locked-in syndrome (LIS) following basilar artery thrombosis despite an attempt of thrombolysis. Neurological examination showed quadriplegia and aphonia and a state of coma requiring mechanical ventilation was diagnosed. The use of F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) allowed to detect a normal F-FDG uptake in the main cerebral cortical areas and a significant reduction of F-FDG uptake in both cerebellar hemispheres, compatible with a functional deafferentation, helping confirming the clinical suspicion of LIS.

Comparison among conventional and advanced MRI, F-FDG PET/CT, phenotype and genotype in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GB) is a highly heterogeneous tumor. In order to identify the most malignant tumor areas, the extent of tumor infiltration and the sites giving origin to GB stem cells (GSCs), we combined positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and conventional and advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with histology, immunohistochemistry and molecular genetics. Prior to dura opening and tumor resection, forty-eight biopsy specimens [23 of contrast-enhancing (CE) and 25 of non-contrast enhancing (NE) regions] from 12 GB patients were obtained by a frameless image-guided stereotactic biopsy technique.

A PET/CT approach to spinal cord metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Purpose: In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, functional alterations within the brain have been intensively assessed, while progression of lower motor neuron damage has scarcely been defined. The aim of the present study was to develop a computational method to systematically evaluate spinal cord metabolism as a tool to monitor disease mechanisms.

Methods: A new computational three-dimensional method to extract the spinal cord from (18)F-FDG PET/CT images was evaluated in 30 patients with spinal onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 30 controls.

Metabolic spatial connectivity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as revealed by independent component analysis.

Objectives: Positron emission tomography (PET) and volume of interest (VOI) analysis have recently shown in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) an accuracy of 93% in differentiating patients from controls. The aim of this study was to disclose by spatial independent component analysis (ICA) the brain networks involved in ALS pathological processes and evaluate their discriminative value in separating patients from controls.

Experimental Design: Two hundred fifty-nine ALS patients and 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects underwent brain 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose PET (FDG-PET).

Neural processing of emotions in traumatized children treated with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy: a hdEEG study.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been proven efficacious in restoring affective regulation in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. However, its effectiveness on emotion processing in children with complex trauma has yet to be explored. High density electroencephalography (hdEEG) was used to investigate the effects of EMDR on brain responses to adults' emotions on children with histories of early maltreatment.

18F-FDG-PET correlates of cognitive impairment in ALS.

Objective: To identify the metabolic signature of the various levels of cognitive deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-PET (18F-FDG-PET).

Methods: A total of 170 ALS cases consecutively enrolled at the ALS Center of Turin underwent brain 18F-FDG-PET and were classified as displaying normal cognition (ALS-Cn; n = 94), full-blown frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD; n = 20), executive or nonexecutive cognitive impairment not fulfilling FTD criteria (ALS-Ci; n = 37), prevalent behavioral changes (n = 9), or nonclassifiable impairment (n = 10) according to neuropsychological testing. Group comparisons of 18F-FDG-PET pattern were carried out among the cognitive subgroups.

Uncommon 18F-FDG-PET/CT findings in patients affected by limbic encephalitis: hyper-hypometabolic pattern with double antibody positivity and migrating foci of hypermetabolism.

Autoimmune limbic encephalitis (LE) is a rare disorder; its diagnosis can be challenging. We report two uncommon cases of LE evaluated by brain 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography describing the metabolic imaging patterns, which were different from those observed in previous studies: the first one presented an unprecedented (18)F-FDG brain mixed pattern, involving also the midbrain, despite negative magnetic resonance imaging exams; the second one showed migrating foci of hypermetabolism, one of which turned into hypometabolism at a later examination.

Functional pattern of brain FDG-PET in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objective: We investigated a large sample of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at rest in order to assess the value of (18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ((18)F-FDG) PET as a biomarker to discriminate patients from controls.

Methods: A total of 195 patients with ALS and 40 controls underwent brain (18)F-FDG-PET, most within 5 months of diagnosis. Spinal and bulbar subgroups of ALS were also investigated.

The metabolic signature of C9ORF72-related ALS: FDG PET comparison with nonmutated patients.

Purpose: Recently, a GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9ORF72 gene, located on chromosome 9p21 has been demonstrated to be the commonest cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to account for 5 to 10 % of apparently sporadic ALS. Relatively little is known about the brain metabolism profile of patients carrying the expansion. Our aim was to identify the [(18)F]FDG PET profile in ALS patients with the C9ORF72 expansion (C9ORF72-ALS).

Is %ΔSUVmax a useful indicator of survival in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer?

Purpose: To investigate the impact of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), size of primary lung lesion, and %ΔSUVmax on outcome (overall survival (OS) and 2-year disease-free survival (2-year DFS)) of patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: 86 stage III-IV NSCLC patients underwent 18 F-FDGPET/CT, before and after chemotherapy, and were classified into subgroups according to the response criteria of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. SUVmax values and tumor size with the best prognostic significance were searched.

Prediction of 2 years-survival in patients with stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer utilizing (18)F-FDG PET/CT SUV quantification.

Background: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the correlation between the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), size of primary lung lesion, disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2 years follow-up.

Patients And Methods: Forty-nine patients with stage I-II NSCLC were included in this study. Pre-surgical 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron-emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) study was performed for all patients.

A comparison between ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging and biological and radiological findings in restaging of hepatoblastoma patients.

Background: In this study we retrospectively evaluated if ¹⁸F-FDG-PET/CT provided incremental diagnostic information over CI in a group of hepatoblastoma patients performing restaging.

Procedure: Nine patients (mean age: 5.9 years; range: 3.

Diagnostic performance of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.

Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze published data about the diagnostic performance of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: A comprehensive computer literature search of studies published through May 2012 regarding (18)F-FDG-PET and PET/CT in patients with IBD was performed. All retrieved studies were reviewed and qualitatively analyzed.

The role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the metabolic characterization of lung nodules in pediatric patients with bone sarcoma.

Background: The principal aim of this study was to identify the lowest nodule diameter and the SUV(max) capable of characterizing lung nodules in pediatric patients with bone sarcoma.

Procedure: Eighteen consecutive bone sarcoma patients (M/F = 11:7; mean age 14 years) with suspicious lung lesions at CT were enrolled. Overall, 63 lung nodules with a mean diameter of 3.

Brain hypermetabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a FDG PET study in ALS of spinal and bulbar onset.

Purpose: To identify the neurobiological traits of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to elucidate functional differences between ALS of spinal and bulbar onset. We hypothesized that glucose metabolism distribution might vary between groups.

Methods: The study groups comprised 32 patients with ALS of either bulbar (n = 13) or spinal (n = 19) onset and 22 subjects as controls.

The role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in pediatric lymph-node acute lymphoblastic leukemia involvement.

In pediatric oncology, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is emerging as an essential diagnostic tool in characterizing suspicious neoplastic lesions and staging malignant diseases. Most studies regarding the possible role of FDG-PET/CT in the management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients are limited to adults. Here we report a pediatric patient with recurrent ALL, in which FDG-PET/CT was used both to define more precisely the cause of lymphadenopathy and to assess the effect of the second-line therapy.