Nuclear and molecular imaging in cerebral palsy

Abstract

Nuclear or molecular imaging (N/MI) is a functional imaging method, which utilizes radiopharmaceuticals (RPHs) to prepare the patient and special detectors to map and measure the distribution of the administered RPHs inside the body. RPHs are biologically active molecules labeled with radioactive isotopes (or radionuclides). They target either normal tissues or specific pathology (e.g., tumors, infection, etc.) and are administered in absolutely safe and harmless small quantities. N/MI provides a noninvasive evaluation of patients with or at risk of developing cerebral palsy and predicts outcome of these patients. It has also an established role for the localization of seizure foci in epilepsy, which is present in approximately two fifths of patients with cerebral palsy. Novel PET tracers that are used in some neurological centers image gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor with 18F-fluoroflumazenil and serotonin function with 11C-alpha-methyl-l-tryptophan, and these have the potential to become the standard of care in the future.