title: Imaging of early inflammation in low-to-moderate carotid stenosis by 18-FDG-PET.
abstract: It is not clear if 18FDG-PET can be useful for detection of inflammation in low to moderate carotid stenosis. We studied 15 patients scheduled for endarterectomy with contralateral carotids with less than 50% stenosis. 18-FDG-PET was performed prior to CEA and 3 months following surgery. FDG-uptake values were calculated based on maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and corresponding uptake ratios. We confirmed by CD68 macrophage staining that FDG accumulation corresponds to active inflammation (R=0.8 p less than 0.005). We found significant correlation between the FDG-uptake in the carotids scheduled for CEA and contralateral carotids with low to moderate stenosis (R=0.9 p less than 0.001). The FDG uptake ratio in the contralateral arteries remained stable on the follow-up imaging (1.15+/-0.2 vs. 1.14+/-0.1, R=0.7 p=0.006). We did not find correlation between FDG uptake and symptomatic or asymptomatic patients, degree of carotid stenosis and vascular risk factors. This is a prospective, preliminary in vivo study demonstrating that low to moderate carotid atherosclerosis can be detected using 18-FDG-PET imaging and highlights the truly systemic nature of atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Bellvitge (HUB), Fundacio Idibell, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M Angels M Angels
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Font
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carvajal
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gamez
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Badimon
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slevin
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krupinski
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18