Neuroimaging clinics of North America
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Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · Nov 2003
ReviewPositron emission tomography imaging of the aging brain.
PET imaging provides a vital means to study the human brain in vivo in aging and early disease states. PET studies using selective markers for brain metabolism and neurotransmitter function have uncovered a wealth of information on healthy and pathologic brain aging, and its relationship to behavior and mood states. Recognition of inherent potential confounds in the use of PET in aging studies is essential to the proper interpretation of these data.
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Factors that place constraints on radio-chemists who are seeking to design and develop radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging studies include the short half-lives of 11C and 18F, minimum radiochemical yield and specific activity requirements, and high radiation fields that are associated with multi-Curie quantities of PET radionuclides. Nevertheless, during the past 20 years, considerable progress has been made in the development and application of a variety of PET radiotracers for a range of imaging studies in human subjects. We have highlighted a few areas of radiochemistry that focused on PET radiotracers that are described in this issue. Although the number of PET radiotracers synthesized is in the hundreds [6], much work remains to develop specific and useful PET radiotracers for a host of new and exciting noninvasive imaging applications.
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Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · Nov 2003
Review Historical ArticleMolecular imaging of the brain: a historical perspective.
The rapid expansion of modern molecular imaging methods since the time of their initial conception in the 1970s has given rise to numerous discoveries of molecular mechanisms that underlie brain function in health and disease. Uses in clinical diagnosis and therapy monitoring are still evolving. Future clinical trials, in which molecular imaging is imbedded and correlated with clinical outcomes, will be critical to advancing new uses for patient management. Receptor occupancy studies are already well integrated into many drug development studies and clinical trials; such studies will provide a basis for new studies that will further advance clinical uses of brain molecular imaging.
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The past 40 years have seen PET scanning evolve from a tool that was used predominantly for research to a valued clinical, imaging modality. Current PET scanners must perform high quality, whole-body, as well as brain, PET. ⋯ Several manufacturers now provide hybrid PET-CT scanners. There is also a growing interest in dedicated devices for specific applications, such as high-resolution scanners for imaging small animals.
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Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · Nov 2003
ReviewNeuroimaging and mechanisms of drug abuse: interface of molecular imaging and molecular genetics.
Whereas ligand studies can inform the end-products of dysregulation of genetic expression, reporter gene imaging can provide the means to understand the genetic origin of these end-products. As with radioligand studies, in vivo direct measurement of gene expression will allow genetic processes to be monitored over time in the same subject, use of a subject as his/her own control in intervention studies (i.e., measurement before and after an intervention), and monitoring the spatial distribution of molecular events in the whole brain. Furthermore, reporter gene imaging, by advancing knowledge of the biologic mechanisms of disease states, has important clinical implications, particularly in the development and monitoring of treatments. We expect PET to play a prominent role in the elucidation of substance abuse mechanisms and contribute significantly to the development of innovative treatment strategies.