CASE REPORT

[¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography is a useful tool to diagnose the early stage of Takayasu's arteritis and to evaluate the activity of the disease

Authors

Kunihiko Umekita¹, Ichiro Takajo¹, Syunichi Miyauchi¹, Katoko Tsurumura¹, Siro Ueno¹, Norio Kusumoto¹, Yasufumi Kai¹, Masayuki Kuroki¹, Takashi Sasaki¹ and Akihiko Okayama¹

Received:

13 January 2006

Accepted:

06 April 2006

Full Text

> Click Here　（member's only）

Abstract

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a rare disease that can be difficult to diagnose in its early stage. A young woman with a fever and neck pain was thought to have TA, although computed tomographic angiography did not show any specific changes of the arteries. [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG-PET) was performed to detect the source of the inflammation. Specific accumulation of [¹⁸F]FDG-6-phosphate in the thoracic aorta and its direct branches was observed, leading to a diagnosis of TA. [¹⁸F]FDG-PET is therefore considered to be useful for the diagnosis of early-stage TA.

Key words

Diagnosis - Fever of unknown origin - [¹⁸F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG-PET) - Takayasu's arteritis (TA)