title: Transient uptake of thallium-201 into a cerebral infarction: a case report.
abstract: We describe a 51-year-old woman with a cerebral infarction that showed transient accumulation of thallium-201. On admission, this lesion was well-enhanced by gadolinium injection and gradually expanded, mimicking a malignant brain tumor. A cerebral angiogram, however, did not indicate the presence of a malignant brain tumor. Ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon computerized tomography showed perfusion defects throughout hospitalization. The final diagnosis of cerebral infarction was established by pathological examination. Six months after onset, the enhancement by gadolinium and the expansion of the lesion disappeared. A cerebral infarction showing transient uptake of thallium-201, and lesion expansion is indicative of a lesion in the liquefaction stage that might mimic a malignant tumor. Although thallium-201 scintigrams are useful for the differential diagnosis of radiation necrosis and recurrent brain tumor, the findings in this patient should alert clinicians to the differential diagnosis of intracerebral expansive lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. dai_sampo@yahoo.co.jp
authors.forename: Daijiro
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Daizo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noha
authors.forename: Mitsuyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teramoto
mesh_terms: D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes