title: Recent Advances in the Development of PET/SPECT Probes for Atherosclerosis Imaging.
abstract: The rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and subsequent thrombus formation are the major causes of myocardial and cerebral infarction. Accordingly, the detection of vulnerable plaques is important for risk stratification and to provide appropriate treatment. Inflammation imaging using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) has been most extensively studied for detecting vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. It is of great importance to develop PET/SPECT probes capable of specifically visualizing the biological molecules involved in atherosclerotic plaque formation and/or progression. In this article, we review recent advances in the development of PET/SPECT probes for visualizing atherosclerotic plaques and their application to therapy monitoring, mainly focusing on experimental studies.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.affiliation: Central Institute of Isotope Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 15 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0815 Japan ; Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuge
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Nanocarrier (nanoparticle); PET/SPECT probes; Radioimmunodetection; Therapy monitoring