Evaluation of the olfactory nerve transport function by SPECT-MRI fusion image with nasal thallium-201 administration.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to visualize the human olfactory transport pathway to the brain by performing imaging after nasal thallium-201 ((201)Tl) administration.


METHODS
Healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study after giving informed consent (five males, 35-51 years old). The subjects were nasally administered (201)TlCl into either the olfactory cleft. Twenty-four hours later, uptake of (201)Tl was detected by a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/X-ray computed tomography hybrid system. For each subject, an MRI image was obtained and merged with the SPECT image.


RESULTS
The peak of the (201)Tl uptake entered into the olfactory bulb in the anterior skull base through the cribriform lamina 24 h after nasal administration of (201)Tl. No participant had olfactory disturbance after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Nasal (201)Tl administration was safely used to assess the direct pathway to the brain via the nose in healthy volunteers with normal olfactory threshold.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kanazawa Medical University, Kahokugun, Ishikawa, Japan. shigah@kanazawa-med.ac.jp
Hideaki
H
Shiga
Junichi
J
Taki
Masato
M
Yamada
Kohshin
K
Washiyama
Ryohei
R
Amano
Yukihiro
Y
Matsuura
Osamu
O
Matsui
Shinji
S
Tatsutomi
Sayaka
S
Yagi
Asuka
A
Tsuchida
Tomokazu
T
Yoshizaki
Mitsuru
M
Furukawa
Seigo
S
Kinuya
Takaki
T
Miwa
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000328:Adult; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009666:Nose / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000187:drug effects; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009832:Olfactory Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects; D013793:Thallium; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*
D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes; D013793:Thallium