• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.247-261
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• 1999

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the normal values of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) in normal children to aged volunteers using Tc-99m HMPAO, Materials and Methods: Thirty four right-handed normal volunteers (20 males, 14 females, mean age $40.3{\pm}24.9$ years, range 4 to 82 years) were underwent rost/acetazolamide (ACZ) brain SPECT using Tc-99m HMPAO and the sequential injection and subtraction method. rCBF was estimated on the basis of a semiquantitative approach by means of right/left ratio, region/cerebellum and region to whole brain ratios in (rental, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, basal ganglia, thalami, and cerebellum. CVR was measured by means of % perfusion increase calculated as % mean count change compared to rest rCBF in each regions. Results: Mean values of right to left ratios range from 1.004 to 1.018, rCBF was highest in cerebellum and lowest in basal ganglia and thalami. Frontal and temporal rCBF decreased while occipital and thalamic rCBF increased according to age. No sexual difference of rCBF was noted. Mean CVR was $29.9{\pm}12.9%$. Mean CVR significantly increased to late teens, and declined thereafter. After 6th decade, CVR in both frontal lobes, left parietal lobe and right basal ganglia decreased significantly with advancing age. There was no sexual difference of CVR. Conclusion: Quantitative assessment of CVR was possible by ACZ Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT. It revealed that rCBF and CVR changed according to age in normal Korean volunteers. There was no sexual difference.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.314-324
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• 1998

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the outcome of encephalo-duro-arterio-synangiosis (EDAS) surgery with rest/acetazolamide Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT in moyamoya disease. Materials and Methods: Rost/acetazolamide subtraction SPECT with consecutive acquisition were done before and 2 months after 21 EDAS surgeries in 18 patients. Perfusion decrease was graded visually for 14 areas of each hemisphere as 0 (normal) to 3 (defect) using 4 point scoring system. Postoperative rest perfusion or perfusion reserve was compared with preoperative ones. Results: Among 294 areas of 21 hemispheres, rest perfusion abnormality was found in 91 areas of 15 hemispheres. Decrease of perfusion reserve was found in 146 areas of 18 hemispheres. Six hemispheres having normal rest perfusion and 12 of 15 hemispheres having rest perfusion abnormality showed reserve decrease. Three having rest perfusion defect did not change after acetazolamide in preoperative SPECT. After operation, 16 patients (89%) demonstrated clinical improvement. Fifteen among 18 hemispheres (83%) with decreased reserve improved. Rest perfusion abnormality improved in 6 among the 15 hemispheres (40%). The areas having rest perfusion and/or reserve decrease improved in 87 among 146 areas (60%). Decrease of reserve, improved in 85% (68/80). However, areas without reserve decrease also improved in 29% (19/66). The better was preoperative rest perfusion in involved areas or the more decreased vascular reserve, the more improved perfusion and reserve after operation. Conclusion: We conclude that assessment of perfusion and Perfusion reserve using rest/acetazolamide brain perfusion SPECT predict the surgical outcome in patients with moyamoya disease.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 1988

8 patients of delayed CO sequelae were evaluated using Brain CT and $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ SPECT. The results were as follows; 1) CT findings of delayed CO sequleae were bilateral low density lesion in globus pallidus (l pt.), diffuse low density in white matter with bilateral low density in white matter (l pt.), diffuse low density in white matter with bilateral low density in globus pallidus (l pt.), diffuse low density in white matter with cortical atrophy (l pt.), bilateral low density in globus pallidus and diffuse low density in white matter with cortical atrophy (l pt.) and normal in 3 pts. 2) $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ Brain SPECT findings of delayed CO sequelae were decreased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in frontal (1 among 8 pts.), frontal and basal ganglia (3 among 8 pts.), and diffuse patch decreased rCBF pattern (4 among 8 pts.) 3) $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ Brain SPECT study was well correlated with neurologic symptoms and signs in delayed CO sequelae. Our results may suggest that reduced cerebral blood flow contributes to the development of delayed CO sequelae.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.13-19
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• 2019

Purpose Tc-99m HMPAO is widely used radiopharmaceutical for brain perfusion SPECT. Tc-99m HMPAO is chemically unstable and is liable to show deterioration of labeling efficiency due to high incidence of secondary Tc-99m HMPAO complex, free pertechnetate and reduced-hydrolyzed Tc-99m. In this study, we investigated whether sialogogues administration could reduce the impurities of Tc-99m HMPAO. Materials and Methods In thirty subjects(20 male and 10 female, age range 19~89 years, mean age $60.7{\pm}14.5years$), brain perfusion SPECT were performed at basal and citric acid stimulation states consecutively after injection of 555 MBq of Tc-99m HMPAO. In the salivary glands, the uptake coefficient was calculated using Siemens processing program. Statistical comparison between before and after the citric acid stimulation performed paired t-test. P value less than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results Salivary glands uptake was $12900{\pm}3101$ counts in basal and $10677{\pm}2742$ counts in citric acid stimulation states. Unnecessary impurities in the body is much decreased after citric acid administration(t=10.78, P<0.05). The image quality was much improved after administration of citric acid and the regional cerebral perfusion was clearly from demarcated the background. Conclusion The impurity is distributed throughout the body particularly in the salivary glands and nasal mucosa when Tc-99m HMPAO brain perfusion SPECT is performed. If this impurities is not removed, the quality of the image may deteriorate, resulting in errors in visual evaluation. The use of sialogogues could be helpful for decreasing unnecessary impurities in the body.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1995

뇌졸증환자의 뇌 SPECT 소견상 나타나는 소뇌교차해리현상(crossed cerebellar diaschisis)은 잘 알려진 현상이다. 한편 간질 환자의 발작시 뇌 SPECT에서 반대편 소뇌에 혈류증가를 보이는 역교차해리현상(reverse type of crossed cerebellar diashisis)은 드물게 보고되었었다. 따라서 본 저자들은 발작시 뇌 SPECT에서 역교차해리현상의 빈도 및 간질병소를 찾는데 있어서의 유용성에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 복합부분발작환자 중 임상적, 뇌파검사상 및 SPECT 소견등에서 간질병소가 일치하는 12명의 환자를 대상으로 하였다. 환자 모두에서 시행한 발작시 스캔은 발작중 혹은 환자가 aura를 호소할때 $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO 15-20mCi를 정맥주입 후 시행하였으며 발작간 스캔은 11명의 환자에서 발작시 스캔 후 적어도 3일 간격을 두고 시행하였다. 간질병소는 우측측두엽이 6예, 좌측측두엽이 4예, 우측후두엽이 1예, 좌측전두엽이 1예 등이었다. 발작시 스캔상 간질병소 및 반대편 소뇌에 혈류가 증가하는 역해리현상은 모두 8명(75%)의 환자에서 나타났으며 특히 2명의 환자에서는 간질병소보다 반대편 소뇌의 동위원소 섭취가 더욱 뚜렸했다. 역해리현상을 보였던 환자의 발작간 스캔소견에서는 발작시 증가되었었던 소뇌의 동위원소 섭취가 7예에서 정상화되었고 나머지 1예에서는 감소되었다. 따라서 소뇌의 역교차해리현상은 발작시 뇌 SPECT의 자주 볼 수 있는 현상으로 간질병소의 편측화에 도움을 줄 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.244-254
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• 2002

Purpose: This study investigated the differences between technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (Tc-99m ECD) and technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (Tc-99m HMPAO) uptake in the normal brain by means of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed age and sex matched 53 cases of normal brain SPECT. Thirty-two cases were obtained with Tc-99m ECD and 21 cases with Tc-99m HMPAO. There were no abnormal findings on brain MRIs. All of the SPECT images were spatially transformed to standard space, smoothed and globally normalized. The differences between the Tc-99m ECD and Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT images were statistically analyzed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM'99) software. The differences bgetween the two groups were considered significant ant a threshold of corrected P values less than 0.05. Results: SPM analysis revealed significantly different uptakes of Tc-99m ECD and Tc-99m HMPAO in the normal brains. On the Tc-99m ECD SPECT images, relatively higher uptake was observed in the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes, in the basal ganglia and thalamus, and in the superior region of the cerebellum. On the Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT images, relatively higher uptakes was observed in subcortical areas of the frontal region, temporal lobe, and posterior portion of inferior cerebellum. Conclusion: Uptake of Tc-99m ECD and Tc-99m HMPO in the normallooking brain was significantly different on SPM analysis. The selective use of Tc-99m ECD of Tc-99m HMPAO in brain SPECT imaging appears especially valuable for the interpretation of cerebral perfusion. Further investigation is necessary to determine which tracer is more accurate for diagnosing different clinical conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.232-243
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• 2002

Purpose: We studied whether brain perfusion SPECT is useful in the psychiatric disability evaluation of patients with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and Methods: Sixty-nine patients (M:F=58:11, age $39{\pm}14$ years) who underwent Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT, brain MRI and neuropsychological (NP) tests during hospitalization in psychiatric wards for the psychiatric disability evaluation were included; the severity of injury was mild in 31, moderate in 17 and severe in 21. SPECT, MRI, NP tests were peformed $6{\sim}61$ months (mean 23 months) post-injury. Diagnostic accuracy of SPECT and MRI to show hypoperfusion or abnormal signal intensity in patients with cognitive impairment represented by NP test results were compared. Results: Forty-two patients were considered to have cognitive impairment on NP tests and 27 not. Brain SPECT showed 71% sensitivity and 85% specificity, while brain MRI showed 62% sensitivity and 93% specificity (p>0.05, McNemar test). SPECT found more cortical lesions and MRI was superior in detecting white matter lesions. Sensitivity and specificity of 31 mild TBI patients were 45%, 90% for SPECT and 27%, 100% for MRI (p>0.05, McNemar test). Among 41 patients with normal brain MRI, SPECT showed 63% sensitivity (50% for mild TBI) and 88% specificity (85% for malingerers). Conclusion: Brain SPECT has a supplementary role to neuropsychological tests in the psychiatric disability evaluation of chronic TBI patients by detecting more cortical lesions than MRI.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 1995

To evaluate availability of cerebral radionuclide imaging for diagnosis of brain death, we examined 25 patients with a suspected clinical diagnosis of brain death. 8 patients were studied by $^{99m}Tc$ DTPA and 15 patients were studied by $^{99m}Tc$ HMPAO (Hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime). Seven patients with $^{99m}Tc$ DTPA studies revealed absence of cerebral blood flow and sagittal sinus activity. All of 15 patients with $^{99m}Tc$ HMPAO studies revealed complete absence of cerebral perfusion. The results of the cerebral radionuclide studies of brain death correlated with other clinical conditions, such as intracranial pressure(ICP), EEG, transcranial doppler sonography(TCDS), and neurologic examination. The ICP of 8 patients, who are confirmed by brain death with $^{99m}Tc$ HMPAO study are elevated in all cases. In conclusion, cerebral radionuclide imaging for diagnosis of brain death is available. $^{99m}Tc$ HMPAO imaging is unequivocal, easily interpreted, well reflect the physiologic state of increased ICP, and provides adequate assessment of posterior fossa activity. In addition, the SPECT imaging with $^{99m}Tc$ HMPAO produces more accurate results due to it's superiority of image contrast and proper localization of radiopharmaceutical distribution than conventional planar imaging.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.175-182
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• 1993

We evaluated the usefulness of $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO SPECT in 21 Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial aneurysm and in 3 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysm. SPECT study could detect the bilaterally hypoperfused cases in 10 patients (48%), but CT/MRI showed the bilateral abnormalities in only 3 patients (14%). The number of abnormal lesions were 56 in SPECT and 25 in CT/MRI. The lesions found in SPECT were well correlated with the neurological signs of the patients such as aphasia or hemiplegia. SPECT study during Matas test was helpful in evaluating the risk for carotid artery occlusion therapy. We thought that $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO brain SPECT is helpful in evaluating the functional changes in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.322-335
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• 2000

Purpose: For quantitative estimation of cerebrovascular reserve (CVR), we estimated the cerebral blood flow (CBF) using Lassen's nonlinearity correction algorithm and Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT images acquired with consecutive acquisition protocol. Using the values of CBF in basal and acetaBolamide (ACZ) stress states, CBF increase was calculated. Materials and Methods: In 9 normal subjects (age; $72{\pm}4$ years), brain SPECT was performed at basal and ACZ stress states consecutively after injection of 555 MBq and 1,110 MBq of Tc-99m HMPAO, respectively. Cerebellum was automatically extracted as reference region on basal SPECT image using threshold method. Assuming basal CBF of cerebellum as 55 ml/100g/min, CBF was calculated lot every pixel at basal states using Lassen's algorithm. Cerebellar blood flow at stress was estimated comparing counts of cerebellum at rest and ACZ stress and Lassen's algorithm. CBF of every pixel at ACZ stress state was calculated using Lassen's algorithm and ACZ cerebellar count. CVR was calculated by subtracting basal CBF from ACZ stress CBF for every pixel. The percent CVR was calculated by dividing CVR by basal CBF. The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were generated. Results: The CBF and percentage CVR parametric images were obtained successfully in all the subjects. Global mean CBF were $49.6{\pm}5.5ml/100g/min\;and\;64.4{\pm}10.2ml/100g/min$ at basal and ACZ stress states, respectively. The increase of CBF at ACZ stress state was $14.7{\pm}9.6ml/100g/min$. The global mean percent CVR was 30.7% and was higher than the 13.8% calculated using count images. Conclusion: The blood flow at basal and ACZ stress states and cerebrovascular reserve were estimated using basal/ACZ Tc-99m-HMPAO SPECT images and Lassen's algorithm. Using these values, parametric images for blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve were generated.