technetium-tc-99m-bicisate and Brain-Injuries

The purpose of this atlas is to present a review of the literature showing the advantages of SPECT brain perfusion imaging (BPI) in mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) over other morphologic imaging modalities such as x-ray CT or MRI. The authors also present the technical recommendations for SPECT brain perfusion currently practiced at their center. For the radiopharmaceutical of choice, a comparison between early and delayed images using Tc-99m HMPAO and Tc-99m ECD showed that Tc-99m HMPAO is more stable in the brain with no washout over time. Therefore, the authors feel that Tc-99m HMPAO is preferable to Tc-99m ECD. Recommendations regarding standardizing intravenous injection, the acquisition, processing parameters, and interpretation of scans using a ten grade color scale, and use of the cerebellum as the reference organ are presented. SPECT images of 228 patients (age range, 11 to 88; mean, 40.8 years) with mild or moderate TBI and no significant medical history that interfered with the results of the SPECT BP were reviewed. The etiology of the trauma was in the following order of frequency: motor vehicle accidents (45%) followed by blow to the head (36%) and a fall (19%). Frequency of the symptoms was headache (60.9%), memory problems (27.6%), dizziness (26.7%), and sleep disorders (8.7%). Comparison between patients imaged early (<3 months) versus those imaged delayed (>3 months) from the time of the accident, showed that early imaging detected more lesions (4.2 abnormal lesions per study compared to 2.7 in those imaged more than 3 months after the accident). Of 41 patients who had mild traumatic injury without loss of consciousness and had normal CT, 28 studies were abnormal. Focal areas of hypoperfusion were seen in 77% (176 patients, 612 lesions) of the group of 228 patients. The sites of abnormalities were in the following order: basal ganglia and thalami, 55.2%, frontal lobes, 23.8%, temporal lobes, 13%, parietal, 3.7%, insular and occipital lobes together, 4.6%.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Basal Ganglia; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Child; Cysteine; Dizziness; Frontal Lobe; Headache; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Injections, Intravenous; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Organotechnetium Compounds; Radiopharmaceuticals; Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; Thalamus; Time Factors; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Unconsciousness

To investigate the efficacy and indications of zolpidem, a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic, inducing arousal in vegetative state patients after brain injury.. One hundred sixty-five patients were divided into 4 groups, according to area of brain damage and injury mechanism. All patients' brains were imaged by Tc-ECD single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), before and 1 hour after treatment with 10 mg of zolpidem. Simultaneously, 3 quantitative indicators of brain function and damage were obtained using cerebral state monitor. Thirty-eight patients withdrew from the study after the first zolpidem dose. The remaining 127 patients received a daily dose of 10 mg of zolpidem for 1 week and were monitored again at the end of this week.. One hour after treatment with zolpidem, cerebral state index was increased and burst suppression reduced in both brain contrecoup contusion and space-occupying brain compression groups (P < 0.05). SPECT showed, 1 hour after medication, that cerebral perfusion was improved in both brain contrecoup contusion and space-occupying brain compression groups, but no changes were seen in primary and secondary brain stem injury groups. In the 127 patients' group, after 1 week of zolpidem treatment, all parameters obtained from cerebral state monitor were not statistically different compared with those after the initial medication (P > 0.05).. Zolpidem is an effective medicine to restore brain function in patients in vegetative state after brain injury, especially for those whose brain injuries are mainly in non-brain-stem areas. Improvement of brain function is sudden rather than gradual.

Topics: Adult; Brain; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Cysteine; Female; Humans; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Male; Middle Aged; Organotechnetium Compounds; Persistent Vegetative State; Pyridines; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Zolpidem

To evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on patients with postbrain injury neural status.. Two to 4 courses of HBO therapy and/or medications were used to treat 320 patients who were randomly divided into two groups. Assessment was made with (99m)Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer ( (99m)Tc-ECD) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before and after treatment.. There was a significant difference between the HBO therapy group and the non-HBO therapy group. HBO therapy was superior to medication treatment alone in the recovery of clinical symptoms, control of epilepsy, and resolution of hydrocephalus (P<0.01).. HBO therapy has specific curative effects on patients with postbrain injury neural status, and (99m)Tc-ECD SPECT could play an important role in diagnosing postbrain injury neural status and monitoring the therapeutic effects of HBO.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Brain; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Cysteine; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hyperbaric Oxygenation; Injury Severity Score; Male; Middle Aged; Organotechnetium Compounds; Probability; Reference Values; Risk Assessment; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Treatment Outcome

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intensive cognitive rehabilitation (CR) were administered to two patients with cognitive dysfunction following brain injury. The first case was a 67-year-old man who presented with memory dysfunction, attention dysfunction, and decreased insight following diffuse axonal injury. High-frequency rTMS (10 Hz, 2400 pulses/day) targeting the anterior cingulate using a navigation system and CR were administered for 12 days at 1 year from the onset of injury. The patient showed improved neuropsychological performance and activities of daily living. In addition, single photon emission computer tomography with Tc-ECD showed improved perfusion in the anterior cingulate gyrus. The second case was a 68-year-old man who presented with dysfunction of memory, attention, and executive function following a cerebral infarction in the middle cerebral artery region within the right hemisphere. This patient received 12 days (except for Sundays) of low-frequency rTMS (1 Hz, 1200 pulses/day) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left posterior parietal cortex and CR. Following this intervention, the patient's neuropsychological performance and activities of daily living improved. Furthermore, single photon emission computer tomography showed changes in perfusion in the rTMS target sites and areas surrounding the targets. We have shown the safety and efficacy of rTMS therapy using a navigation system combined with intensive CR on two patients with cognitive dysfunction following brain injury. In addition, we observed changes in the areas around the rTMS target sites in brain imaging data.

Topics: Aged; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Cognition Disorders; Cysteine; Electroencephalography; Functional Laterality; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders; Organotechnetium Compounds; Physical Conditioning, Human; Radiopharmaceuticals; Recovery of Function; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

The objective of this study was to identify specific brain lesions with regional perfusion abnormalities possibly associated with neuropsychological impairments (NPI), as sequela after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), using 99mTc-ethylcysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography (Tc-99m ECD SPECT) and its novel analytic software.. We studied 23 patients with diffuse axonal injury with NPI group (Impaired-DAI), 26 with MTBI with NPI group (Impaired-MTBI) and 24 with MTBI without NPI group (Healthy-MTBI). In each subject, Tc-99m ECD SPECT images were analyzed by easy Z score imaging system (eZIS) and voxel-based stereotactic extraction estimation (vbSEE). Segmented into lobule levels, ROIs were set in 140 areas in whole brain, and relative regional low Tc-99m ECD uptake was computed as "extent" (rate of coordinates with Z score >2.0 in the ROI). Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed using "extent" to discriminate the three groups.. The highest area under the curve (AUC) value for data of Impaired-DAI and Healthy-MTBI groups was obtained in ROI on the left anterior cingulate gyrus (LtACG), with AUC of 0.93, optimal "extent" cutoff value of 10.9%, sensitivity 87.0%, specificity 83.3%. The highest AUC value for data of Impaired-MTBI and Healthy-MTBI groups was also in the LtACG, with AUC of 0.87, optimal "extent" cutoff value of 9.2%, sensitivity 73.1%, specificity 83.3%.. Using two analytic software packages, eZIS and vbSEE, we identified specific lesions with low regional Tc-99m ECD uptake possibly associated with NPIs after MTBI. Especially, this trend was most marked in the left anterior cingulate gyrus in MTBI patients with NPIs and those with DAI. The optimal "extent" cutoff value, as a criterion for SPECT abnormality, might help the diagnosis of NPIs after MTBI.

Topics: Adult; Brain; Brain Injuries; Cysteine; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Organotechnetium Compounds; Software; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

Assessment of cerebral blood flow (CBF) by SPECT could be important in the management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) because changes in regional CBF can affect outcome by promoting edema formation and intracranial pressure elevation (with cerebral hyperemia), or by causing secondary ischemic injury including post-traumatic stroke. The purpose of this study was to establish an improved method for evaluating regional CBF changes after TBI in piglets.. The focal effects of moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) by SPECT cerebral blood perfusion (CBP) imaging in an animal model were investigated by parallelized statistical techniques. Regional CBF was measured by radioactive microspheres and by SPECT 2 hours after injury in sham-operated piglets versus those receiving severe TBI by fluid-percussion injury to the left parietal lobe. Qualitative SPECT CBP accuracy was assessed against reference radioactive microsphere regional CBF measurements by map reconstruction, registration and smoothing. Cerebral hypoperfusion in the test group was identified at the voxel level using statistical parametric mapping (SPM).. A significant area of hypoperfusion (P < 0.01) was found as a response to the TBI. Statistical mapping of the reference microsphere CBF data confirms a focal decrease found with SPECT and SPM.. The suitability of SPM for application to the experimental model and ability to provide insight into CBF changes in response to traumatic injury was validated by the SPECT SPM result of a decrease in CBP at the left parietal region injury area of the test group. Further study and correlation of this characteristic lesion with long-term outcomes and auxiliary diagnostic modalities is critical to developing more effective critical care treatment guidelines and automated medical imaging processing techniques.

Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Cysteine; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Image Enhancement; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Male; Microspheres; Organotechnetium Compounds; Radiopharmaceuticals; Swine; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was applied to brain perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to investigate regional cerebral abnormalities compared to age-matched normal controls.. Thirteen patients with TBI underwent brain perfusion SPECT were included in this study (10 males, three females, mean age 39.8 +/- 18.2, range 21 - 74). SPM2 software implemented in MATLAB 5.3 was used for spatial pre-processing and analysis and to determine the quantitative differences between TBI patients and age-matched normal controls.. Three large voxel clusters of significantly decreased cerebral blood perfusion were found in patients with TBI. The largest clusters were area including medial frontal gyrus (voxel number 3642, peak Z-value = 4.31, 4.27, p = 0.000) in both hemispheres. The second largest clusters were areas including cingulated gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus of left hemisphere (voxel number 381, peak Z-value = 3.67, 3.62, p = 0.000). Other clusters were parahippocampal gyrus (voxel number 173, peak Z-value = 3.40, p = 0.000) and hippocampus (voxel number 173, peak Z-value = 3.23, p = 0.001) in the left hemisphere. The false discovery rate (FDR) was less than 0.04.. From this study, group and individual analyses of SPM2 could clearly identify the perfusion abnormalities of brain SPECT in patients with TBI. Group analysis of SPM2 showed hypoperfusion pattern in the areas including medial frontal gyrus of both hemispheres, cingulate gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus in the left hemisphere compared to age-matched normal controls. Also, left parahippocampal gyrus and left hippocampus were additional hypoperfusion areas. However, these findings deserve further investigation on a larger number of patients to be performed to allow a better validation of objective SPM analysis in patients with TBI.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Brain; Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Cysteine; Databases, Factual; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Organotechnetium Compounds; Radiopharmaceuticals; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon