Noradrenergic uptake in the liver on 123I‐mIBG imaging: Influence of heart failure and diabetes

Background and Aim Imaging noradrenergic uptake in the liver with norepinephrine analog 123I‐meta‐iodobenzylguanidine (mIBG) was explored in normal controls and patients with heart failure (HF). Methods A total of 961 HF (343 with diabetes mellitus [DM]) and 94 control subjects underwent anterior planar mIBG images including upper abdomen at 15 min (early) and 3 h 50 min (late) post‐injection. Decay‐corrected liver activity normalized to injected activity and body surface area (counts/pixel [cpp]/MBq/m2) was compared in three groups: HF with DM; HF without DM; and controls. Associations with plasma norepinephrine, liver function tests, and level of cardiac innervation were explored. Results In controls, liver mIBG activity decreased over time (early: 2.78 vs late: 2.43 cpp/MBq/m2, P