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Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Positron Emission Tomography Imaging for In Vivo Measuring of Myelin Content in the Lysolecithin Rat Model of Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: February 28, 2021
A case of multiple sclerosis with homonymous hemianopia examined by positron emission tomography
Hideki Murai1, Motohiro Kiyosawa, Yukihisa Suzuki
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Postgraduate School of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8591, Japan.
Background:
To demonstrate the efficacy of positron emission tomography (PET) for examining multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with hemianopia.
Case:
A 20-year-old man visited us with a complaint of left homonymous hemianopia and headache.
Observations:
The patient's visual acuity was 1.2 (n.c.) OD and 0.9 (1.0) OS. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a mass in the temporoparietal lobe. A pathological diagnosis of MS was made by brain biopsy. Low glucose metabolism in the lesion and visual cortex was observed by PET with (18)F-fluorodeoxy glucose. PET with (11)C-flumazenyl revealed a reduction of (11)C-uptake in the demyelinated optic radiation, and only a slight reduction of (11)C-uptake in the primary visual cortex. The results of (11)C-flumazenyl PET suggested a slight reduction of neuronal density. In 2 years, the visual field recovered to the normal state.
Conclusion:
PET can be a useful tool for estimating the visual outcome of patients with hemianopia in MS.
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