Gallium-67 scanning to stage the alveolitis of sarcoidosis: correlation with clinical studies, pulmonary function studies, and bronchoalveolar lavage
Current concepts of the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis suggest that the alveolitis of this disorder is related to increased numbers of mononuclear phagocytes and activated T-lymphocytes within the lung. To determine if 67Ga scanning, a procedure commonly used in the evaluation of inflammation, would be useful in staging the alveolitis of sarcoidosis, researchers studied 41 patients with this disorder and correlated estimates of pulmonary /sup 67/Ga accumulation with clinical, roentgenographic, physiologic, and bronchoalveolar lavage studies in these patients. Although 65% of patients with sarcoidosis showed increased amounts of /sup 67/Ga accumulation in the lung compared with control subjects, only weak correlations (r less than +/- 0.42, all comparisons) were found between the degree of gallium uptake and the clinical, roentgenographic, or physiologic data. In contrast, there was a strong correlation of /sup 67/Ga uptake and the number of lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes recovered from the lungs of these patients by bronchoalveolar lavage (p less than 0.0001, r greater than or equal to 0.67, both comparisons). This data suggested that gallium uptake reflects the intensity of the T-lymphocytes mediated component of the alveolitis in sarcoidosis. Because /sup 67/Ga scans are noninvasive, simple to perform, and widely available, they should prove useful to stage the activity of sarcoidosis and to make decisions regarding therapy directed against the alveolitis of the disease.
- OSTI ID:
- 5392737
- Journal Information:
- Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.; (United States), Vol. 123:4 Pt. 1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
GALLIUM 67
DIAGNOSTIC USES
LUNGS
SCINTISCANNING
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
DIAGNOSIS
BUILDUP
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
LYMPHOCYTES
PATIENTS
PHYSIOLOGY
ANIMAL CELLS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
GALLIUM ISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LEUKOCYTES
MATERIALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SOMATIC CELLS
USES
550601* - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
551001 - Physiological Systems- Tracer Techniques