Visual interpretation, not SUV ratios, is the ideal method to interpret 18F-DOPA PET scans to aid in the cure of patients with focal congenital hyperinsulinism.

Introduction: Congenital hyperinsulinism is characterized by abnormal regulation of insulin secretion from the pancreas causing profound hypoketotic hypoglycemia and is the leading cause of persistent hypoglycemia in infants and children. The main objective of this study is to highlight the different mechanisms to interpret the 18F-DOPA PET scans and how this can influence outcomes.

Materials And Methods: After 18F-Fluoro-L-DOPA was injected intravenously into 50 subjects' arm at a dose of 2.

Whole Body PET Imaging with a Norepinephrine Transporter Probe 4-[F]Fluorobenzylguanidine: Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry.

Purpose: 4-[F]Fluorobenzylguanidine ([F]PFBG) is a positron emission tomography (PET) probe for non-invasive targeting of the norepinephrine transporter. The aim of this study was to assess uptake and distribution characteristics of this PET probe.

Procedures: Three cynomolgus monkeys were injected with 269 ± 51 MBq (7.

Pancreatic uptake and radiation dosimetry of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA from PET imaging studies in infants with congenital hyperinsulinism.

Methods: After injecting 25.6 ± 8.8 MBq (0.

FDG PET Imaging of Extremities in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of fluorodeoxyglucose positive emission tomography imaging in assessing the degree of joint inflammation and response to therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using standard PET parameters.

Methods: Five subjects with newly diagnosed RA were enrolled in this IRB-approved prospective study. After standard conventional workup that included clinical and laboratory evaluation and disease activity score (DAS3v) calculation, subjects underwent baseline FDG PET scans of their hands and feet prior to initiation of treatment and after six months of standard treatment.

Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of C-Nicotine from Whole-Body PET Imaging in Humans.

This study assessed the in vivo distribution of C-nicotine and the absorbed radiation dose from whole-body C-nicotine PET imaging of 11 healthy (5 male and 6 female) subjects. After an initial CT attenuation scan, C-nicotine was administered via intravenous injection. A dynamic PET scan was acquired for 90 s with the brain in the field of view, followed by a series of 13 whole-body PET scans acquired over a 90-min period.

Construction and radiolabeling of adenovirus variants that incorporate human metallothionein into protein IX for analysis of biodistribution.

Using adenovirus (Ad)-based vectors is a promising strategy for novel cancer treatments; however, current tracking approaches in vivo are limited. The C-terminus of the Ad minor capsid protein IX (pIX) can incorporate heterologous reporters to monitor biodistribution. We incorporated metallothionein (MT), a low-molecular-weight metal-binding protein, as a fusion to pIX.

In vitro evaluation of the insertion force for different dilator tip configurations.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tissue penetration insertion force of different dilator tip geometries in simulated tissue. Four different dilator tip designs-conical (control), triangular, diamond, and biconvex-were appraised. The penetration force for each dilator was measured by using an ad hoc device.

Quantification of bone changes in a collagen-induced arthritis mouse model by reconstructed three dimensional micro-CT.

Background: Inflammatory arthritis is a chronic disease, resulting in synovitis and subchondral and bone area destruction, which can severely affect a patient's quality of life. The most common form of inflammatory arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in which many of the disease mechanisms are not well understood. The collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model is similar to RA as it exhibits joint space narrowing and bone erosion as well as involves inflammatory factors and cellular players that have been implicated in RA pathogenesis.

PET imaging a MPTP-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease using the fluoropropyl-dihydrotetrabenazine analog [18F]-DTBZ (AV-133).

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the nigrostriatal system. Numerous researchers in the past have attempted to track the progression of dopaminergic depletion in PD. We applied a quantitative non-invasive PET imaging technique to follow this degeneration process in an MPTP-induced mouse model of PD.

18F-FDG PET in pregnancy and fetal radiation dose estimates.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to estimate the fetal radiation exposure resulting from (18)F-FDG PET procedures performed in pregnant patients with malignancies.

Methods: Five pregnant patients with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of malignancy who underwent (18)F-FDG PET studies were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent PET-only studies (and not PET/CT studies) with a reduced (18)F-FDG dose (except for 1 patient who had a negative pregnancy test immediately before the (18)F-FDG PET procedure but was confirmed to be pregnant a few weeks later), including vigorous hydration and diuresis to minimize radiation exposure to the fetus.

Genetic incorporation of human metallothionein into the adenovirus protein IX for non-invasive SPECT imaging.

As the limits of existing treatments for cancer are recognized, clearly novel therapies must be considered for successful treatment; cancer therapy using adenovirus vectors is a promising strategy. However tracking the biodistribution of adenovirus vectors in vivo is limited to invasive procedures such as biopsies, which are error prone, non-quantitative, and do not give a full representation of the pharmacokinetics involved. Current non-invasive imaging strategies using reporter gene expression have been applied to analyze adenoviral vectors.

Kinetics of brain nicotine accumulation in dependent and nondependent smokers assessed with PET and cigarettes containing 11C-nicotine.

Tobacco smoking is a chronic, relapsing disorder that constitutes one of the primary preventable causes of death in developed countries. Two of the popular hypotheses to explain the development and maintenance of strong nicotine dependence in cigarette smokers posit (i) a rapid brain nicotine accumulation during cigarette smoking and/or (ii) puff-associated spikes in brain nicotine concentration. To address these hypotheses, we investigated the dynamics of nicotine accumulation in the smoker's brain during actual cigarette smoking using PET with 3-s temporal resolution and (11)C-nicotine loaded into cigarettes.