Yoshiharu Yonekura

Persistent uptake of Indium-111-antimyosin monoclonal antibody in patients with myocardial infarction☆

Indium-111(111In)-antimyosin scintigraphy was investigated in 27 patients with myocardial infarction. 111In-antimyosin Fab was administered intravenously, and planar and single photon emission computed tomographic images were obtained 48 hours later. Uptake of 111In-antimyosin was present in 9 of 10 patients (90%) studied within 6 days of infarction. During the second week positive scans were seen in 16 of 16 patients (100%) including 13 (81%) who had normal creatine kinase levels. The mechanism of persistent positive antimyosin images in the subacute stage of myocardial infarction remains to be clarified. 111In-antimyosin scintigraphy may be useful as a noninvasive method for the detection of myocardial injury late and early after a suspected acute myocardial infarction.

PET Measurement of Myocardial Blood Flow

Positron emission tomography (PET) has potentials for quantification of regional myocardial blood flow and metabolism in vivo. PET perfusion images can be obtained using N-13 ammonia, a generator-produced rubidium-82, and O-15 water. PET provides higher quality perfusion images than the widely used thallium-201 perfusion images. Therefore, the qualitative PET perfusion study can yield higher sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing coronary artery disease than the thallium-201 imaging. In addition, quantitative analysis of flow reserve by PET may further enhance the identification of a mild coronary perfusion abnormality. The tracers and techniques of PET perfusion imaging as well as the clinical value of PET perfusion study are discussed.