Nuclear Molecular Imaging for Vulnerable Atherosclerotic Plaques.
10.3348/kjr.2015.16.5.955
- Author:
Soo Jin LEE
1
;
Jin Chul PAENG
Author Information
1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea. paengjc@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Review ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Vulnerable plaque;
PET;
SPECT;
Molecular imaging
- MeSH:
Atherosclerosis/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography;
Endothelial Cells/metabolism;
Humans;
Inflammation/pathology;
Lipoproteins, LDL/metabolism;
Macrophages/immunology/metabolism;
Plaque, Atherosclerotic;
Positron-Emission Tomography;
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
- From:Korean Journal of Radiology
2015;16(5):955-966
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease as well as a lipid disorder. Atherosclerotic plaque formed in vessel walls may cause ischemia, and the rupture of vulnerable plaque may result in fatal events, like myocardial infarction or stroke. Because morphological imaging has limitations in diagnosing vulnerable plaque, molecular imaging has been developed, in particular, the use of nuclear imaging probes. Molecular imaging targets various aspects of vulnerable plaque, such as inflammatory cell accumulation, endothelial activation, proteolysis, neoangiogenesis, hypoxia, apoptosis, and calcification. Many preclinical and clinical studies have been conducted with various imaging probes and some of them have exhibited promising results. Despite some limitations in imaging technology, molecular imaging is expected to be used both in the research and clinical fields as imaging instruments become more advanced.
