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Semi-quantitative Assessment Using [18F]FDG Tracer in Patients with Severe Brain Injury
Published on: November 9, 2018
Brain [18F]FDG PET in Encephalitis and Postinfectious Neurocognitive Syndromes
Eric Guedj1, Tatiana Horowitz1, Antoine Verger2
1Aix-Marseille University (AMU), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Timone Hospital, IMoTheP Team, Institut Fresnel, Marseille, France.
None:
Brain [18F]FDG PET can reveal metabolic abnormalities that precede, exceed, or clarify structural MR imaging findings. Among inflammatory brain diseases, the strongest clinical rationale is currently in autoimmune encephalitis, where fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET increases diagnostic sensitivity, supports syndrome-oriented metabolic pattern recognition, and may contribute to selected follow-up. In viral encephalitis, use is selective rather than routine. In post-coronavirus infectious disease (COVID) condition and related postinfectious syndromes, FDG PET may support biological stratification and differential diagnosis in a subset of patients. Interpretation remains highly dependent on clinical context and methods. Translocator protein (TSPO) PET adds mechanistic information on neuroimmune activation but belongs mainly to the research domain.
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