[18F]-Sodium fluoride uptake in Takayasu arteritis

While 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 18F-sodium fluoride with positron emission tomography relate with inflammation and calcification, their role in the assessment of patients with Takayasu arteritis has not yet been studied. We present 5 patients with suspected active metabolic disease who underwent PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 18F-sodium fluoride in order to explore the locations and correlations of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and 18F-sodium fluoride uptakes. Diagnosis of metabolic active disease was based on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. We studied 3 female patients and 2 male patients. Median age was 29 years (min: 19 max: 63). In areas with atherosclerotic plaques, we found a negative correlation between 18F-sodium fluoride and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptakes (r = −0.78) (P = .001). Meanwhile, in areas with only metabolic active disease, we found a positive correlation between 18F-sodium fluoride and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptakes (r = 0.94) (P = .019). In Takayasu arteritis, 18F-sodium fluoride uptake can document different stages of metabolic disease, even in the absence of active metabolic disease or symptoms.