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Role of 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography in imaging atherosclerosis
1Department of Interventional Cardiology and Angiology, Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.
Insights
Positron emission tomography with 18F-sodium fluoride shows promise for imaging atherosclerotic plaque activity. This nuclear imaging technique offers insights into plaque progression and rupture, aiding in understanding cardiovascular disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Nuclear Imaging
- Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerosis
Background:
- Atherosclerosis is a leading global cause of death, underlying conditions like heart attack and stroke.
- Current imaging primarily assesses blood flow, not the biological processes within atherosclerotic plaques.
- Nuclear imaging offers potential to visualize plaque activity, progression, and rupture dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the latest advancements in 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography for atherosclerosis.
- To discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this imaging technique.
- To identify future research directions in atherosclerotic imaging.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) in atherosclerosis.
- Analysis of studies focusing on plaque activity, progression, and rupture.
- Evaluation of the technical aspects, advantages, and limitations of 18F-NaF PET.
Main Results:
- 18F-NaF PET is the most advanced nuclear imaging tracer for visualizing atherosclerotic plaque activity.
- The technique can depict processes involved in plaque progression and rupture.
- The literature provides substantial data on 18F-NaF PET applications in atherosclerosis.
Conclusions:
- 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography is a promising tool for molecular imaging of atherosclerosis.
- Further research is needed to fully establish its clinical utility and optimize its application.
- This imaging modality has the potential to improve the understanding and management of cardiovascular diseases.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis involving vascular beds across the human body remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Coronary and peripheral artery disease, which are almost universally a result of atherosclerotic plaque, can manifest clinically as myocardial infarctions, ischemic stroke, or acute lower-limb ischemia. Beyond imaging myocardial perfusion and blood-flow, nuclear imaging has the potential to depict the activity of the processes that are directly implicated in the atherosclerotic plaque progression and rupture. Out of several tested tracers to date, the literature is most advanced for 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography. In this review, we present the latest data in the field of atherosclerotic 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography imaging, discuss the advantages and limitation of the techniques, and highlight the aspects that require further research in the future.
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