PURPOSE Kuwabara et al. have examined the cerebral artery dilation with acetazolamide (ACZ) challenge test using PET. And, they reported that ACZ reaction came out time dependently. We have developed a unique SPECT's method using Technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) to verify the results obtained by Kuwabara et al. METHOD 1000 MBq of 99mTc-ECD was exactly divided into three syrin...

BACKGROUND Scintigraphic studies have been performed to assess the release, both in vitro and in vivo, of radiotracers from tablet formulations. Four different tracers with differing physicochemical characteristics have been evaluated to assess their suitability as models for drug delivery. METHODS In-vitro disintegration and dissolution studies have been performed at pH 1, 4 and 7. In-vivo s...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to prospectively quantify the normal limits of brain perfusion using specific software in a group of asymptomatic young volunteers submitted to single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD). METHODS We used 15 MBq/kg of intravenous 99mTc-ECD in 30 healthy volunteers submitted to brief neuropsychological t...

BACKGROUND Partial volume effects in atrophied areas should be taken into account when interpreting brain perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images of neurodegenerative diseases. To evaluate both perfusion and atrophy using brain SPECT alone, we developed a new technique applying tensor-based morphometry (TBM) to SPECT. METHODS After linear spatial normalization of b...

Radionuclide angiography with technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) or technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) enables the non-invasive estimation of absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF) to be determined by using spectral analysis (SA). We previously demonstrated the clinical use of SA; however, this method involves a few manual steps. The aim of this study was to...

Meticulous neuroradiological evaluations, including 123I-iomazenil (IMZ) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and 11C-flumazenil (FMZ) positron emission tomography (PET), preoperatively disclosed epileptogenic foci in a 16-year-old boy with temporal lobe epilepsy. Interictal scalp electroencephalography showed spikes in the left temporal region. Left hippocampal sclerosis was seen...

Chronic cerebral ischaemia (CCI) is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by carotid artery occlusion, hypotension and other causes. Moyamoya Syndrome (MMS) an example of CCI, in which there progressive narrowing the branches internal artery. Conventionally, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) are utilised to visualise vascular abnormalities. Ho...

Among several brain radiopharmaceuticals for SPECT imaging, 99mTc complexes of HMPAO and ECD are the most widely used. They are considered to be equal in their capacity to reflect regional cerebral blood flow; but discrepancies between HMPAO and ECD brain uptake have been reported in stroke patients. This paper reports our observations regarding discrepancies between HMPAO and ECD SPECT in 14 o...

To evaluate the usefulness of a combination of linearization and scatter-attenuation correction on 99mTc-bicisate (ECD)-single photon emission tomographic (SPECT) images, both cerebral blood flow (CBF)-positron emission tomographic (PET) images and ECD-SPECT images from fifteen patients with chronic cerebral infarction were acquired. We measured radioactivity counts in regions of interest (ROIs...