Journal article
Determinants of intracranial microcalcification assessed by 18F-sodium fluoride PET
Nuclear medicine communications, v 47(5), pp 588-593
May 2026
PMID: 41709668
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Abstract
Purpose Intracranial calcifications are commonly found in adults and may represent either benign or pathological lesions. Conventional imaging modalities detect static macrocalcifications but do not capture molecular microcalcification. In this study, we used F-18-sodium fluoride (NaF) PET/computed tomography (CT) to idetect intracranial molecular microcalcification. Methods A total of 127 subjects underwent F-18-NaF PET/CT 90 min following radiotracer injection. Artificial intelligence-based quantification was performed to obtain regions of interest for the brainstem, basal ganglia (caudate and lentiform nuclei), insula, thalamus, and ventricles. Linear regression models were used to correlate NaF mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) with various clinical factors. Results NaF SUVmean was highest in the insula (0.8 +/- 0.4) and brainstem (0.8 +/- 0.3), while uptake was lowest in the caudate nucleus (0.1 +/- 0.1). No differences were found in NaF SUVmean between healthy volunteers and at-risk patients. On multivariate regression, NaF SUVmean directly correlated with age in the brainstem (beta = 0.01, P = 0.01), lentiform nucleus (beta < 0.01, P = 0.02), and ventricles (beta < 0.01, P < 0.01). Male sex inversely correlated with NaF SUVmean in the insula (beta = -0.30, P < 0.01). There was an association between NaF SUVmean and BMI in the brainstem, caudate nucleus, lentiform nucleus, thalamus, and ventricles (beta <= 0.01, P < 0.01 in all regions). Thalamic and ventricular NaF SUVmean directly correlated with hypertension on univariate but not multivariate analysis. Conclusion NaF PET/CT detects intracranial molecular microcalcification that is not visible o
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Details
- Title
- Determinants of intracranial microcalcification assessed by 18F-sodium fluoride PET
- Creators
- Shiv Patil - Thomas Jefferson UniversityDarshil Patel - Thomas Jefferson UniversityWilliam Lee - Drexel University, College of MedicineRaj Patel - Univ Penn, Dept Radiol, 3400 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USAAtharv Bhave - Thomas Jefferson UniversityJaskeerat Gujral - University of PennsylvaniaOm H. Gandhi - University of PennsylvaniaFnu Jeevika - University of PennsylvaniaOndrej Fanta - University of PennsylvaniaRobert Subtirelu - University of PennsylvaniaThomas J. Werner - Hospital of the University of PennsylvaniaPoul Flemming Hoilund-Carlsen - Odense Univ Hosp, Dept Nucl Med, Odense, DenmarkAbass Alavi - University of Pennsylvania
- Publication Details
- Nuclear medicine communications, v 47(5), pp 588-593
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Number of pages
- 6
- Grant note
- Jurgen and Gisela Thrane's Philanthropic Research Foundation, Broager, Denmark Anna Marie and Christian Rasmussen's Memorial Foundation University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; University of Southern Denmark
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Medicine
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001730359600002
- Other Identifier
- 991022172970704721