Theragnostic aspects and radioimmunotherapy in pediatric tumors

The use of theragnostic radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine has grown rapidly over the years to combine the diagnosis and therapy of tumors. In this review, we performed web-based and desktop literature research to investigate and explain the potential role of theragnostic imaging in pediatric oncology. We focused primarily on patients with aggressive malignancies such as neuroblastoma and brain tumors, to select patients with the highest chance of benefit from personalized therapy. Moreover, the most critical and groundbreaking applications of radioimmunotherapy in children's oncology were examined in this peculiar context. Preliminary results showed the potential feasibility of theragnostic imaging and radioimmunotherapy in pediatric oncology. They revealed advantages in the management of the disease, thereby allowing an intra-personal approach and adding new weapons to conventional therapies

Cortico-Subcortical Metabolic Changes in Aging Brain

Aim: to investigate the effects of aging on brain glucose consumption on a population of healthy subjects.Materials and methods: 102 chemotherapy-naïve subjects (56 men, 46 women; mean age 57±16 years old; age range 20-89 years) undergoing a whole body 18F FDG PET/CT and found to be completely negative for various diseases in both PET/CT and contrast enhanced CT (performed contextually to PET/CT scan) were enrolled in the study. Age-related changes in brain 18F-FDG uptake were analysed by statistical parametric mapping (SPM8).Results: aging is related to a reduction of brain glucose consumption in right medial frontal gyrus (BA9) and anterior cingulate cortex (BA32) and to an increased 18F-FDG uptake in right sub-cortical structures (lentiform nucleus, claustrum) and in cerebellum bilaterally.Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that a reduced functioning of ACC and medial PFC occur in the elderly. An increased activation of the cerebellum, lentiform nucleus and claustrummay represent a compensatory mechanism, possibly involved in cognitive decline

Cortico-Subcortical Metabolic Changes in Aging Brain: A 18F FDG PET/CT Study

Aim: to investigate the effects of aging on brain glucose consumption on a population of healthy subjects. Materials and methods: 102 chemotherapy-naïve subjects (56 men, 46 women; mean age 57±16 years old; age range 20-89 years) undergoing a whole body 18F FDG PET/CT and found to be completely negative for various diseases in both PET/CT and contrast enhanced CT (performed contextually to PET/CT scan) were enrolled in the study. Age-related changes in brain 18F-FDG uptake were analysed by statistical parametric mapping (SPM8). Results: aging is related to a reduction of brain glucose consumption in right medial frontal gyrus (BA9) and anterior cingulate cortex (BA32) and to an increased 18F-FDG uptake in right sub-cortical structures (lentiform nucleus, claustrum) and in cerebellum bilaterally. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that a reduced functioning of ACC and medial PFC occur in the elderly. An increased activation of the cerebellum, lentiform nucleus and claustrummay represent a compensatory mechanism, possibly involved in cognitive decline

Comparison between early-onset and late-onset alzheimer's disease patients with amnestic presentation: CSF and 18F-FDG PET study

BACKGROUND/AIMS To investigate the differences in brain glucose consumption between patients with early onset of Alzheimer's disease (EOAD, aged ≤65 years) and patients with late onset of Alzheimer's disease (LOAD, aged >65 years). METHODS Differences in brain glucose consumption between the groups have been evaluated by means of Statistical Parametric Mapping version 8, with the use of age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination and cerebrospinal fluid values of AΒ1-42, phosphorylated Tau and total Tau as covariates in the comparison between EOAD and LOAD. RESULTS As compared to LOAD, EOAD patients showed a significant decrease in glucose consumption in a wide portion of the left parietal lobe (BA7, BA31 and BA40). No significant differences were obtained when subtracting the EOAD from the LOAD group. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study show that patients with EOAD show a different metabolic pattern as compared to those with LOAD that mainly involves the left parietal lobe

Association between hearing sensitivity and dopamine transporter availability in Parkinson's disease

In a previous study, we observed: significant hearing function impairment, assessed with pure tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions, in patients with Parkinson's disease, compared with a matched control group, and lateralization of the hearing dysfunction, worse on the side affected by more pronounced Parkinson's disease motor symptoms. This study investigates the association between the basal ganglia dopamine transporter availability and the hearing function in Parkinson's disease patients, focusing also on the lateralization of both dysfunctions, with respect to that of the motor symptoms, and introducing a further distinction between patients with left-sided and right-sided predominant motor symptoms. Patients with right-handed Parkinson's disease with a recent estimation of 123I-FP-CIT striatal uptake were audiologically tested with pure tone audiometry and distortion product otoacoustic emissions. Thirty-nine patients were included in the study. A statistically significant association was found, in the left-side predominant group only, between the distortion product otoacoustic emission levels and the contralateral dopamine transporter availability, and between the hearing threshold and the dopamine transporter availability difference between the ipsi- and the contralateral sides. The hearing impairment lateralization correlated to the motor symptom asymmetry was found significant only in the left-side predominant patients. The association between hearing function and basal ganglia dopamine transporter availability supports the hypothesis that the peripheral hearing function decline associated with dopamine depletion is involved in Parkinson's disease development, with a significant difference between patients with left- and right-sided predominant motor symptoms. These findings also suggest that peripheral hearing function evaluation and its lateralization could be key elements for subtyping the disease

Correction to: The role of molecular imaging in the frame of the revised dementia with Lewy body criteria

In the article mentioned above all authors were assigned affiliation 14, which is wrong. Affiliation 14 belongs only to author Agostino Chiaravalloti

Validation of the REM behaviour disorder phenoconversion-related pattern in an independent cohort

Background: A brain glucose metabolism pattern related to phenoconversion in patients with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBDconvRP) was recently identified. However, the validation of the iRBDconvRP in an external, independent group of iRBD patients is needed to verify the reproducibility of such pattern, so to increase its importance in clinical and research settings. The aim of this work was to validate the iRBDconvRP in an independent group of iRBD patients. Methods: Forty iRBD patients (70 ± 5.59 years, 19 females) underwent brain [18F]FDG-PET in Seoul National University. Thirteen patients phenoconverted at follow-up (7 Parkinson disease, 5 Dementia with Lewy bodies, 1 Multiple system atrophy; follow-up time 35 ± 20.56 months) and 27 patients were still free from parkinsonism/dementia after 62 ± 29.49 months from baseline. We applied the previously identified iRBDconvRP to validate its phenoconversion prediction power. Results: The iRBDconvRP significantly discriminated converters from non-converters iRBD patients (p = 0.016; Area under the Curve 0.74, Sensitivity 0.69, Specificity 0.78), and it significantly predicted phenoconversion (Hazard ratio 4.26, C.I.95%: 1.18–15.39). Conclusions: The iRBDconvRP confirmed its robustness in predicting phenoconversion in an independent group of iRBD patients, suggesting its potential role as a stratification biomarker for disease-modifying trials.</p

Prostate Cancer: From Molecular Imaging to Immunological and Target Therapies

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, affecting a million people worldwide with a particularly high burden in countries with a low human development index [...

Functional Imaging of Chemobrain: Usefulness of Nuclear Medicine in the Fog Coming After Cancer

: The impact of chemotherapy on brain functionality has been widely investigated from a clinical perspective, and there is a consensus on a significant impairment of multiple cognitive domains affecting cancer patients after treatment. Nuclear medicine offers a variety of biomarkers for evaluating possible effects of chemotherapy on the brain and for depicting brain changes after chemotherapy. This review summarizes the most relevant findings on brain imaging in patients undergoing chemotherapy for the most common oncologic diseases. The literature published to date offers exciting results on several radiolabeled compounds, from the more common imaging of glucose metabolism to neuroinflammation. This review also provides a general overview of the literature concerning clinical features and the physiopathologic basis of chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment