Myocardial fatty acid imaging with 123I-labelled 9-methyl-branched pentadecanoic acid (9MPA) using SPET

123I-labelled 15-(p-iodophenyl)-9-(R,S)-methylpentadecanoic acid (9MPA) is a modified long-chain fatty acid that shows some beta-oxidation. Some basic aspects of this fatty acid, including myocardial uptake, distribution, clearance and differences from 201Tl myocardial perfusion, have yet to be evaluated. An average of 150 MBq of 123I-9MPA was injected intravenously into 16 patients with coronary artery disease. Planar images were obtained 45, 120 and 240 min post-injection, and single photon emission tomography (SPET) was performed at the initial (5 min), middle (45 min) and late (120 min) phases after injection. Myocardial uptake and clearance were evaluated by planar imaging, and a segmental comparison between 123I-9MPA and reinjection or resting 201Tl was performed on the SPET images. 123I-9MPA showed good uptake between 5 and 60 min, but a severe decrease was seen after 120 min in three (19%) patients. The heart-to-mediastinum ratio was 1.68 +/- 0.19, 1.55 +/- 0.19 and 1.40 +/- 1.40 at 45, 120 and 240 min, respectively. The washout rate after background subtraction was 28% for 45 min to 2 h and 47% for 45 min to 4 h. The segmental comparison (n = 182) between 123I-9MPA and 201Tl showed complete agreement of 72, 75 and 65% at 10, 45 and 120 min, respectively. The grading of the uptake of 123I-9MPA was less than that of 201Tl in 20-30% of the segments indicating myocardial fatty acid metabolic impairment relative to perfusion. The regional clearance from 5 to 120 min in the reduced-count region was lower than that in the normal region (28 +/- 7% vs 36 +/- 8%, P < 0.01). All 123I-9MPA SPET images showed good contrast if the data were acquired within 60 min. Based on the clearance of 123I-9MPA from the myocardium, imaging within 120 min is desirable. A mismatch of fatty acids and perfusion was seen in one-quarter of patients, and differential regional clearance may be clinically significant and should be investigated.