[Myocardial scintigraphic studies with 123I-MIBG, 201Tl and 99mTc-PYP in patients with cardiac amyloidosis].

Myocardial scintigraphic studies, using 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), 99mTc-pyrophosphate (PYP) and 201Tl were performed in 4 patients with cardiac amyloidosis. In MIBG myocardial images, 2 patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) showed complete or partial defect and the other 2 with primary amyloidosis had normal myocardial uptake of MIBG. In PYP myocardial images, diffuse myocardial uptake of PYP was mild in 2 patients with FAP and moderate in the other 2. 201Tl myocardial images revealed normal myocardial uptake of 201Tl in 2 patients with FAP and 1 with primary amyloidosis, and intense myocardial uptake in the other one with primary amyloidosis. These results suggest that myocardial scintigraphies with PYP and 201Tl may be useful for the detection of cardiac amyloidosis and estimation of its pathophysiology. And MIBG myocardial scintigraphy may provide useful information about sympathetic nerve abnormalities which vary with type of the fibril protein, clinical syndromes and disease process of cardiac amyloidosis.