Twelve volunteer patients without liver disease who were undergoing abdominal surgery participated as subjects. Each subject was administered 200 to 300 microcuries of gold-198 (Au198)B colloid intravenously. The uptake and retention of Au198 in lobes of the liver were then measured by scintiscan. Immediately thereafter, 2 to 5 millicuries of technetium-99m (Tc99m)B microaggregated albumin were injected into an arm vein and a second liver scan was performed. The distribution in blood flow of Au198 from the mesenteric vein was compared to the control injection using Tc99m.
Results showed that streamlining to the right lobe did occur, but that it was dependent on which mesenteric vein (cecal, terminal ileal, mid-jejunal, or sigmoid) was injected. This experiment was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-18. Thrombophlebitis Scanning Using Technetium-99m and Iodine-125
IN THE EARLY 1970s, researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California, Los Angeles conducted studies using technetium-99m (Tc99m) to diagnose and study thrombophlebitis (inflammation of a vein associated with clot formation) in veins of the legs. The purpose of this study was to see whether thrombophlebitis could cause pulmonary embolisms (obstructions caused by transported clots).
The subjects for the first study included 73 patients with thrombophlebitis (many of whom also had pulmonary emboli) and 90 control subjects without disease. This study involved injecting 1.5 millicuries of Tc99m-albumin in the veins and measuring its accumulation. The results of this study showed that 80 percent of patients with pulmonary embolisms also had positive scans for thrombophlebitis.
In a related follow-on study involving additional normal subjects (10 or more) and hundreds of patients with actual or suspected thrombophlebitis, comparisons were made between two different diagnostic techniques. The first technique involved injection of 1.5 millicuries of Tc99m-labeled albumin to detect areas of thrombophlebitis in 32 additional patients. The second technique involved injection of 100 microcuries of iodine-125 (I125)Blabeled blood clotting factor (fibrinogen) in an additional 50 patients. Scans of the lower legs of each subject were then performed over a 7 to 30-day post-injection period to measure accumulation.
Both the Tc99m-albumin and the I125-fibrinogen uptake tests were found to be useful for detecting blood clots. This work was supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-19. Studies of Liver Circulation and Metabolism in Normal and Diseased Subjects Using Technetium-99m Albumin Microaggregates
IN 1970 AND 1971, researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California, Los Angeles conducted gamma camera studies of the liver=s dual circulation. The purpose of these studies was to investigate the utility of technetium-99m (Tc99m)Blabeled albumin (a simple protein found throughout the body) aggregates for measuring the digestive capacity of the reticuloendothelial system.
Studies were conducted on an unspecified number of normal subjects, hospital patients with tumors, and patients with liver cirrhosis. Subjects underwent several tracer studies, each of which consisted of injection with unspecified amounts of Tc99m microaggregates of albumin. Gamma camera images were then obtained to compare uptakes in the normal versus abnormal liver and in the liver versus heart.
A related study investigated the usefulness of Tc99m albumin microaggregates for measuring the protein-digesting capability of the normal versus the diseased liver. Seventy-one studies were conducted on 47 patients with various liver and reticuloendothelial system disorders.
Twelve hospital patients and one healthy volunteer with no known liver or infectious disorders were considered as the comparison group.
This study showed that diseased patients exhibited a more rapid excretion of Tc99m-albumin via the biliary pathway and greater amounts of albumin degradation products in the intestines than comparison subjects. These studies were supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-20. Studies of Hip Socket Vascularity Using Technetium-99mBSulfur Colloid
IN 1971 AND 1972, researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California, Los Angeles conducted studies using technetium-99m (Tc99m) sulfur colloid. The purpose of these studies was to gain information about the blood supply to the hip socket for use in treating hip diseases and fractures.
Subjects for these studies were an unspecified number of hospital patients with normal hips and patients with hip disease. Technetium-99m sulfur colloid was administered intravenously and the pelvis was studied by gamma photoscan techniques. Scans were then correlated with pelvic x rays for each patient.
These studies showed that uptake of Tc99m sulfur colloid occurred symetrically in both hip sockets of patients with no known hip disease and that uptake was asymmetric in patients with hip disease. These studies were supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-21. Test of Lung Scans in Normal Subjects Using Technetium-99m, Indium-113m, and Xenon 133
DURING THE PERIOD 1972 to 1973 , researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California at Los Angeles conducted studies to learn more about abnormal lung scans from subjects with normal lung function. The study group consisted of 46 nonsmoking volunteers, aged 21 to 34 years, without history of asthma, emphysema, or other lung disease.
The subjects were administered an unstated amount of albumin macroaggregates labeled with technetium-99m (Tc99m), either by inhalation or intravenous injection and were then given a chest image using a rectilinear scanner. The subjects also received pulmonary standard function tests. Thirteen percent of the scans indicated various perfusion defects such as pulmonary emboli, which were not present. It was concluded that these apparent anomalies could not be related to any pathologic origin.
In a later study, normal volunteer subjects and patients with suspected chronic bronchitis with normal results after pulmonary function testing were selected for gamma camera lung imaging using Tc99m-albumin macroaggregates and albumin labeled with indium-113m (In113m). In selected cases, the lung closing volumes were also measured with a xenon-133 (Xe133) inhalation test. The number of subjects and amounts of radioisotope administered during these tests were not stated. This study showed a relation between abnormality of closing volume and the degree of unevenness of the inhalation scan, and indicated that the chest scan provided a more useful diagnostic tool than routine pulmonary function tests. These studies were supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-22. Study of Cranial Development Defects Using Fluorine-18
A STUDY IN 1973 was conducted at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California, Los Angeles to determine the usefulness of fluorine-18 (F18) in the study of cranial closure development in small children. Since x ray and other clinical examinations can fail to detect the premature closing of the cranium in children, it was thought that cranial imaging with F18 might provide a more effective diagnostic tool for early detection.
Subjects included 15 children with abnormal skulls, ages newborn to 4 years, and 7 children with normal skull development, ages 7 weeks to 16 years. Each subject was administered an unstated amount of F18 and then imaged in the nuclear medicine clinic.
The study provided an explanation for mechanisms involved in the premature closing of the cranium. This study was supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
UCLA-23. Study of Heart Chamber and Pulmonary Dilution Curves in Normal Subjects and Patients with Shunts Using Xenon-133 and Technetium-99m
A 1973 STUDY conducted by researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology of the University of California, Los Angeles compared heart chamber dilution curves and dilution curves for blood vessels in the lungs in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease.
Thirteen normal patients (i.e., patients without heart disorders) and 33 patients with cardiac shunts were included in the study. The normal subjects ranged in age from 2 to 40 years and the patients with heart disease from 3 months to 48 years.
Unstated amounts of xenon-133 (Xe133) in saline and technetium-99m (Tc99m) sulfur colloid were intravenously administered. The flow of the isotopes was followed into the heart and blood vessels of the lungs, and images were made of Xe133 and Tc99m uptake. Dilution curve measurements were also made using flow data. Differences between normal subjects and patients with shunts were observed. This study was funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
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