Serial [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography after Human Neuronal Implantation for Stroke

Abstract

Abstract OBJECTIVE There is no known effective treatment for chronic stroke. In this report, we used positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to map the metabolic brain response to neuronal cell implantation in the first human neuroimplantation trial for stroke. METHODS Twelve patients (nine men, three women; mean age ± standard deviation, 60.8 ± 8.3 yr) with chronic basal ganglia infarction and persistent motor deficit underwent FDG PET within 1 week before and 6 and 12 months after stereotactic implantation of human neuronal cells. Serial neurological evaluations during a 52-week postoperative period included the National Institutes of Health stroke scale and the European stroke scale. RESULTS Alterations in glucose metabolic activity in the stroke and surrounding tissue at 6 and 12 months after implantation correlated positively with motor performance measures. CONCLUSION FDG PET performed as part of an initial open-label human trial of implanted LBS-Neurons (Layton BioScience, Sunnyvale, CA) for chronic stroke demonstrates a relationship between relative regional metabolic changes and clinical performance measures. These preliminary findings suggest improved local cellular function or engraftment of implanted cells in some patients.