title: Quantitative Analysis of Metabolic Abnormality Associated with Brain Developmental Venous Anomalies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Abnormal hypometabolism is common in the brain parenchyma surrounding developmental venous anomalies (DVAs), although the degree of DVA-associated hypometabolism (DVAAh) has not been quantitatively analyzed. In this study, we demonstrate a simple method for the measurement of DVAAh and test the hypothesis that DVAs are associated with a quantifiable decrement in metabolic activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measurements of DVAAh using ratios of standardized uptake values (SUVs) and comparison to a normal database were performed on a cohort of 25 patients (12 male, 13 female), 14 to 76 years old, with a total of 28 DVAs (20 with DVAAh, seven with isometabolic activity, and one with hypermetabolic activity).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Qualitative classification of none, mild, moderate, and severe DVAAh corresponded to quantitative measurements of DVAAh of 1 ± 3%, 12 ± 7%, 18 ± 6%, and 37 ± 6%, respectively. A statistically significant linear correlation between DVAAh and age was observed (P = 0.003), with a 3% reduction in metabolic activity per decade. A statistically significant linear correlation between DVAAh and DVA size was observed (P = 0.01), with a 4% reduction in metabolic activity per each 1 cm in the longest dimension. The SUVDVA-based measures of DVAAh correlated (P = 0.001) with measures derived from comparison with a standardized database.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present a simple method for the quantitative measurement of DVAAh using ratios of SUVs, and find that this quantitative analysis is consistent with a qualitative classification. We find that 54% (15 of 28) of DVAs are associated with a greater than 10% decrease in metabolic activity.
authors: Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School.
authors: Dmitriy
authors: D
authors: Timerman
authors: Radiology, Harvard Medical School.
authors: Jasmine A
authors: JA
authors: Thum
authors: Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA ; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School.
authors: Mykol
authors: M
authors: Larvie
keywords: developmental venous anomaly; dva; dva-associated hypometabolism; pet imaging