Sjögren Syndrome: New Insights in the Pathogenesis and Role of Nuclear Medicine.

In the last years, new insights into the molecular basis of rheumatic conditions have been described, which have generated particular interest in understanding the pathophysiology of these diseases, in which lies the explanation of the diversity of clinical presentation and the difficulty in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. In this review, we focus on the new pathophysiological findings for Sjögren syndrome and on the derived new SPECT and PET radiopharmaceuticals to detect inflammation of immunological origin, focusing on their role in diagnosis, prognosis, and the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy.

Molecular Imaging of Vulnerable Coronary Plaque with Radiolabeled Somatostatin Receptors (SSTR).

Atherosclerosis is responsible for the majority of heart attacks and is characterized by several modifications of the arterial wall including an inflammatory reaction. The silent course of atherosclerosis has made it necessary to develop predictors of disease complications before symptomatic lesions occur. Vulnerable to rupture atherosclerotic plaques are the target for molecular imaging.

Value of Somatostatin Receptor Scintigraphy with Tc-HYNIC-TOC in Patients with Primary Sjögren Syndrome.

Objectives: Primary Sjögren syndrome (SS) is diagnosed based on the American European Consensus Group (AECG) criteria, but lacks specificity, not only in the involvement of salivary glands, but also in extra-glandular involvement. Whole-body somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with Tc-HYNIC-TOC scintigraphy could overcome these limitations. The aims of this study were to evaluate salivary gland uptake of Tc-HYNIC-TOC in untreated patients with de-novo diagnosis of SS as compared to control subjects and as compared to conventional sialoscintigraphy with TcO.