title: Focal cerebral hyper-perfusion in phantom limbs: assessed by Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT.
abstract: Phantom limb pain is a common experience for patients who have received amputation. However, the definite mechanism is still not clear. Here, we describe a patient who suffered from phantom limb pain after left above-elbow amputation. The Tc-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study revealed increased regional cerebral blood flow in the right parietal cortex. This finding may imply the involvement of cerebral cortex in the development of phantom limb pain. Further study is worthwhile to elucidate the utility of SPECT and the role of cortex in phantom limb pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 160, Sec. 3, Taichungkang Road, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
authors.forename: G U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010591:Phantom Limb / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime