Subtirelu Robert Christopher, Teichner Eric Michael, Su Yvonne, Al-Daoud Omar, Patel Milan, Patil Shiv, Writer Milo, Werner Thomas, Revheim Mona-Elisabeth, Høilund-Carlsen Poul Flemming, Alavi Abass
Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA.
Life (Basel). 2023 Oct 12;13(10):2044. doi: 10.3390/life13102044.
Alterations in cerebral glucose metabolism can be indicative of both normal and pathological aging processes. In this retrospective study, we evaluated global and regional neurological glucose metabolism in 73 healthy individuals (mean age: 35.8 ± 13.1 years; 82.5% female) using 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). This population exhibited a low prevalence of comorbidities associated with cerebrovascular risk factors. We utilized F-FDG-PET/CT imaging and quantitative regional analysis to assess cerebral glucose metabolism. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between age and the global standardized uptake value mean (SUVmean) of FDG uptake ( = 0.000795), indicating a decrease in whole-brain glucose metabolism with aging. Furthermore, region-specific analysis identified significant correlations in four cerebral regions, with positive correlations in the basis pontis, cerebellar hemisphere, and cerebellum and a negative correlation in the lateral orbital gyrus. These results were further confirmed via linear regression analysis. Our findings reveal a nuanced understanding of how aging affects glucose metabolism in the brain, providing insight into normal neurology. The study underscores the utility of F-FDG-PET/CT as a sensitive tool in monitoring these metabolic changes, highlighting its potential for the early detection of neurological diseases and disorders related to aging.
大脑葡萄糖代谢的改变可指示正常和病理性衰老过程。在这项回顾性研究中，我们使用18F-氟脱氧葡萄糖（FDG）正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描（PET/CT）评估了73名健康个体（平均年龄：35.8±13.1岁；82.5%为女性）的全脑和区域神经葡萄糖代谢。该人群中与脑血管危险因素相关的合并症患病率较低。我们利用F-FDG-PET/CT成像和定量区域分析来评估大脑葡萄糖代谢。发现年龄与FDG摄取的全脑标准化摄取值均值（SUVmean）之间存在统计学显著的负相关（ = 0.000795），表明随着年龄增长全脑葡萄糖代谢下降。此外，区域特异性分析在四个脑区发现了显著相关性，脑桥基底部、小脑半球和小脑呈正相关，眶外侧回呈负相关。这些结果通过线性回归分析得到进一步证实。我们的研究结果揭示了对衰老如何影响大脑葡萄糖代谢的细微理解，为正常神经学提供了见解。该研究强调了F-FDG-PET/CT作为监测这些代谢变化的敏感工具的实用性，突出了其在早期检测与衰老相关的神经疾病和障碍方面的潜力。
