Abstract
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non invasive imaging technique based on the external detection and recording of the decay of positron emitters incorporated in biological molecules introduced in a subject. Molecules of biological interest (water, sugars, aminoacids, drugs,…) are labelled with short-lived positron emitters isotopes of biological nuclei (13N, 15O, 11C, 18F), providing radiotracers with high specific activity and preserved biochemical properties. The most recent PET instruments allow to obtain time varying three-dimensional (3D) maps of the absolute radioactivity concentration distribution. By applying tracer kinetics principles to these PET data, it is then possible to estimate absolute values of the physiological parameters that determine the interactions and fate of the labelled molecule. With respect to pharmacology, PET can be used either for assessing in vivo the transport and binding regional parameters of a given drug in the tissues of the human body, or for investigating the regional effects of a drug on regional physiological parameters such as, blood flow, energy metabolism or protein synthesis rate. Because of these characteristics and of the low radiation doses that are necessary, PET can be safely used for clinical research purposes.
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Mazoyer, B. (1995). Positron Emission Tomography: Basic Principles and Potential Interest for Pharmacological Studies. In: Comar, D. (eds) PET for Drug Development and Evaluation. Developments in Nuclear Medicine, vol 26. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0429-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0429-6_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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