title: Imaging atherosclerosis with positron emission tomography.
abstract: Positron emission tomography (PET) provides a non-invasive method to measure biological processes that are relevant to atherosclerosis, including arterial inflammation and calcification. The vast majority of studies imaging atherosclerosis with PET have utilized the tracer18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to better understand how inflammation contributes to atherosclerosis development, and to test the efficacy of therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing its progression. Additional tracers such as18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) provide additional avenues for characterizing atherosclerosis development. This review examines the emerging uses of PET arterial imaging as a marker of vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, as a prognostic tool, and as a clinical research tool. In addition, we examine emerging methods that should advance arterial imaging with PET.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac MR PET CT Program, and Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Suite 400, 165 Cambridge St., Boston, MA, USA.|Population Health Research Institute, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.|Department of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Cardiac MR PET CT Program, and Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Suite 400, 165 Cambridge St., Boston, MA, USA atawakol@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tawakol
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Inflammation; Positron emission tomography