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FDG: Patterns of Muscle Uptake

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So in this video we are going

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to review the different patterns of muscle uptake, uh,

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that can happen with FDG.

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So normal uptake in the muscle should be mild

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and should be homogeneous in a resting state.

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Muscle undergoes fatty acid oxidation

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and that would be the major source

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of energy in the skeletal muscles when there's

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insulin in the blood.

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That induces a rapid increase in the glucose uptake in this

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muscles and induces the translocation

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of the transporters,

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specifically the glute four transporters

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from the intracellular vesicles to the plasma membrane.

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And therefore there is an increase of transporters

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that will take up the FDG.

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When we exercise,

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there's basically also an increase in the expression

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of these transporters at the level of the membrane.

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And so there is increased glucose metabolism

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just from consumption.

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Normally when we exercise, uh, the skeletal muscle cells

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undergo, um, stress and they they need extra glucose.

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So this is, uh, what we see on, on P CT as well.

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So things that we have to make sure that we do well, uh,

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prior to the injection of FDG is that, uh,

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we should avoid injecting FDG in a post pan state.

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We discussed earlier the importance of preparation.

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We ask the patients to fast for four to six hours,

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so the insulin levels decrease when there is insulin use

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because the patient is diabetic.

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We should know what insulin has been injected.

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If it's a short acting versus a long acting.

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There's different guidelines for each.

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And these are all in the S-N-M-M-I guidelines

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for FDG pet

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and we should follow those to make sure

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that the scan is diagnostic.

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It is common that during the uptake phase or even just

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before the study, there's some muscle tension.

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And so, uh, these muscles that are being used

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and contracted will also increase the tracer uptake and

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therefore we could see those.

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So talk, uh, to the patient about trying to relax

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and, uh, breathe normally are things that we can do

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to decrease the uptake in muscles.

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So for instance, in this case, you can see

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that there is intense muscle uptake in the area of the jaw.

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And this is because, uh,

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patient was probably biting really hard while the scan

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Was, um, happening either during the haptic phase

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or during the, the scan.

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And you can see that in the fusion image it corresponds

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to the masseter muscles.

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This is another example, for instance, of a patient that

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exercised just prior to the pet,

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and you can see how there's intense uptake in all these, uh,

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muscles throughout the body, upper extremities,

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lower extremities, and,

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and also in the torso, in the fused images, you know,

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they are very nicely correlated to the entire muscle used.

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This indicates not only the use,

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but probably with this degree

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of uptake indicates some underlying injury, which is

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what happens normally when we go to the gym and exercise.

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These are for examples of the different muscle uptake

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that we can encounter.

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Uh, and we'll go through the three abnormal ones, uh,

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on axial images as well.

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But because you are gonna see those, uh, mid images,

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it's important that you familiarize yourself with how

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the abnormal distribution is in each case.

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Uh, when you have an overview of the patient.

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So the first image is the normal distribution

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and you can see that there's very little uptake,

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very mild uptake in the muscles.

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The second case is a case

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of hyperinsulinemia in which the patient didn't follow the

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instructions and so there was a peak of insulin

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by the time we injected the FDG

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and then all that FDG went into the musculature

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by the mechanism that I just uh,

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mentioned a few minutes ago.

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The second case is a patient that had gone

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to the gym, but look at how it is symmetric

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and intense uptake in the muscles of the lower legs,

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but not so much on the rest of the body.

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So this patient had gone to the gym and had done, uh, squads

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and this was not within the 24 hours prior to the scan.

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This was two weeks before the scan.

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So, uh, you can imagine the degree of muscle injury.

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Um, she reported that she was unable to walk, uh,

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for at least a week after going to the gym.

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The last case, uh, it's a case

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of infectious myositis in this case.

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We do have uptake in the cough muscle

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but is fu it's asymmetric.

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We don't have it on the right, it's only on the left

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and it's diffused

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and we'll see it better on the axial beers.

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Faculty

Elisa Franquet Elia, MD

Assistant Professor of Radiology

UMass Chan Medical School

Tags

Response and assessment

PET/CT FDG

PET

Oncologic Imaging

Nuclear Medicine

Neoplastic

General Oncologic Imaging Concepts