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Imaging Techniques: Positron Emission Tomography in GCA and PMR

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Book cover Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis

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Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a diagnostic method showing general biodistribution of positron radiotracers, the most widely and routinely used of which is 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG). FDG is a glucose analogue containing radionuclide fluorine 18F, which decays by positron (β+) emission, with a half-life of 109.7 min. Diagnosis with the use of FDG-PET (“PET”) combines high imaging quality (mainly sensitivity and resolution as compared to “conventional scintigraphy”) and radiotracers with a favourable biodistribution and a relatively high affinity for both tumour and inflammatory cells. As a result, what is a disadvantage for oncologic imaging is a benefit for imaging of inflammations. PET scanner was adequate to provide a “functional metabolic” image of radiotracer biodistribution, however, without any anatomical-morphological information. The current hybrid PET/CT imaging systems are a combination of both methods (PET and CT), providing the respective image in the same scope and at relatively close time points. PET/CT scanners have also reduced the scanning time by about one half as compared to the initial PET scanners and increased image resolution. CT may be performed both in the low-dose (LD) and in the high-dose (HD) diagnostic mode with the possibility to use both positive and negative contrasts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Regional Center for Applied Molecular Oncology, MMCI-Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

    Zdeněk Řehák M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Zdeněk Řehák M.D., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Zdeněk Řehák M.D., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatic Diseases, Piešťany, Slovakia

    Jozef Rovenský

  2. 2nd Department of Medicine, State Hospital of Stockerau, Stockerau, Austria

    Burkhard Leeb

  3. 2nd Internal Clinic Medical Faculty, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Viera Štvrtinová

  4. Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Richard Imrich

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Řehák, Z. (2017). Imaging Techniques: Positron Emission Tomography in GCA and PMR. In: Rovenský, J., Leeb, B., Štvrtinová, V., Imrich, R. (eds) Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52222-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52222-7_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52221-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52222-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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