Cardiac sympathetic neuronal imaging using PET.
BACKGROUND
Balance of the autonomic nervous system is essential for adequate cardiac performance, and alterations seem to play a key role in the development and progression of various cardiac diseases.
PET imaging of the cardiac autonomic nervous system has advanced extensively in recent years, and multiple pre- and postsynaptic tracers have been introduced. The high spatial and temporal resolution of PET enables noninvasive quantification of neurophysiologic processes at the tissue level. Ligands for catecholamine receptors, along with radiolabeled catecholamines and catecholamine analogs, have been applied to determine involvement of sympathetic dysinnervation at different stages of heart diseases such as ischemia, heart failure, and arrhythmia.


METHODS
This review summarizes the recent findings in neurocardiological PET imaging. Experimental studies with several radioligands and clinical findings in cardiac dysautonomias are discussed.
Lautamäki
Riikka
R
Division of Nuclear Medicine, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Tipre
Dnyanesh
D
Bengel
Frank M
FM
D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000294:innervation*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals