Molecular imaging of large vessel vasculitis

Claudine Régis; Gad Abikhzer; Francois Harel; Matthieu Pelletier-Galarneau

doi:10.1016/j.jmir.2023.11.010

Molecular imaging of large vessel vasculitis

J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2024 Jun;55(2S):S10-S16. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2023.11.010. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Authors

Claudine Régis¹, Gad Abikhzer², Francois Harel¹, Matthieu Pelletier-Galarneau³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Imaging, Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
² Department of Medical Imaging, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
³ Department of Medical Imaging, Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: Matthieu.pelletier-galarneau@icm-mhi.org.

PMID: 38097449
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmir.2023.11.010

Abstract

Large vessel vasculitis (LVV) affects mainly large arteries with giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu arteritis (TAK) being the two most frequent forms. Clinical symptoms can be non-specific, including headache, fatigue, weight loss, and change in vision. Untreated, LVV may also lead to serious complications such as blindness, aortic aneurysm and dissection. Therefore, rapid recognition of the disease leading to accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential. FDG-PET/CT imaging has emerged as a sensitive marker of active vascular inflammation and its use in the management of LVV is now integrated in guidelines. In this article, we will discuss the role of FDG-PET/CT for the diagnosis of LVV and monitoring of therapy, as well as review technical and interpretation parameters.

Keywords: Fluorodeoxyglucose; Giant cell artheritis; Large-vessel vasculitis; Polymyalgia rheumatica; Positron emission tomography; Takayasu.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
Giant Cell Arteritis* / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Molecular Imaging / methods
Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography* / methods
Radiopharmaceuticals*
Takayasu Arteritis* / diagnostic imaging

Substances

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Radiopharmaceuticals