Advances in Inflammation and Infection Imaging

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 1892

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Infectious and inflammatory diseases include a large group of diseases with different aetiologies. Infection is the invasion of a host organism by microorganisms such as viruses, prions, bacteria, and viroids, as well as larger organisms like parasites and fungal organisms. After invasion, these organisms may multiply and produce toxins. Hosts can fight infections using their immune system, usually producing inflammation.

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response by the organism to harmful stimuli such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection; we almost always have inflammation associated with an infection, but we do not always have an infection if there is inflammation.

Several imaging methods may allow for the early, non-invasive detection of infectious and inflammatory diseases; in particular, molecular imaging methods may be very useful for the measurement of cellular and molecular processes in living subjects related to infectious and inflammatory diseases.

This Special Issue will highlight the advances of imaging methods in infectious and inflammatory diseases, in particular for the diagnosis and the assessment of response to therapy. Researchers are encouraged to submit both preclinical and clinical studies in the field. Clinical studies may include systematic or narrative reviews and retrospective or prospective studies emphasizing the role and need of imaging techniques in infectious or inflammatory diseases.

Prof. Dr. Giorgio Treglia
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • imaging
  • infection
  • inflammation
  • radiology
  • nuclear medicine
  • molecular imaging
  • hybrid imaging

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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13 pages, 94490 KiB  
Article
Histopathological Evaluation of Somatostatin Receptor 2 Expression in Myocarditis—Rationale for the Diagnostic Use of Somatostatin Receptor Imaging
by Christian L. Polte, Kittichate Visuttijai, Kristina Vukusic, Joakim Sandstedt, Mikael Sandstedt, Emanuele Bobbio, Marie Björkenstam, Kristjan Karason, Niklas Bergh, Entela Bollano and Anders Oldfors
Diagnostics 2024, 14(21), 2374; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14212374 - 24 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium and remains to this day a challenging diagnosis. A promising novel imaging method uses the expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) on inflammatory cells to visualize myocardial inflammation. However, little is known about the histopathological [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium and remains to this day a challenging diagnosis. A promising novel imaging method uses the expression of somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) on inflammatory cells to visualize myocardial inflammation. However, little is known about the histopathological correlate of SSTR imaging in different forms of myocarditis. Methods: In the present retrospective histopathological study, we systematically analysed the expression of SSTR subtype 2 (SSTR2) on inflammatory cells of 33 patients with biopsy- or explant-proven myocarditis (lymphocytic myocarditis (n = 5), giant-cell myocarditis (n = 11), and cardiac sarcoidosis (n = 17)), and in eight controls (multi-organ donors) without signs of myocardial inflammation and/or scars. Results: In all patients, immunohistochemical staining for SSTR2 was positive in areas with CD68-positive macrophages and multinucleated giant cells. Staining for SSTR2 was most prominent in the presence of multinucleated giant cells. The colocalization of both SSTR2 and CD68 on the same cell could be confirmed using immunofluorescence microscopy. Western blotting confirmed the upregulated expression of SSTR2 in cases of granulomatous inflammation (sarcoidosis) of the skeletal and heart muscle, in comparison with controls. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings demonstrate the expression of SSTR2 on the protein level on CD68-positive macrophages and multinucleated giant cells in various forms of myocarditis, which provides a clear rationale for the diagnostic use of SSTR imaging in this patient group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Inflammation and Infection Imaging)
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14 pages, 1842 KiB  
Systematic Review
Performance of [18F]FDG PET/CT in Diagnosing Cyst Infections in Patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and a Bivariate Meta-Analysis
by Giorgio Treglia, Domenico Albano, Alessio Rizzo, Antonio Bellasi, Andor W. J. M. Glaudemans and Olivier Gheysens
Diagnostics 2024, 14(15), 1603; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14151603 - 25 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Background: Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT) has been suggested as a useful imaging method for diagnosing cyst infections in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The aim of this article is to provide evidence-based data in [...] Read more.
Background: Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT) has been suggested as a useful imaging method for diagnosing cyst infections in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The aim of this article is to provide evidence-based data in this setting. Methods: A systematic literature review (exploring several bibliographic databases) and a bivariate meta-analysis were carried out to calculate the pooled diagnostic performance of [18F]FDG PET/CT in diagnosing probable cyst infection in ADPKD. Results: Ten studies (282 PET/CT scans and 249 patients) were included in the analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of [18F]FDG PET/CT in this setting were 84.6% (95% confidence interval: 75.4–90.7) and 94.9% (95% confidence interval: 72.6–99.2), respectively, without statistical heterogeneity or significant publication bias. [18F]FDG PET/CT significantly changed patient management in more than half of ADPKD patients with suspected cyst infection. Conclusions: [18F]FDG PET/CT has high performance in diagnosing probable cyst infections in ADPKD patients with an impact on management in the majority of patients. Although more studies are warranted, the provided evidence-based data are an important step towards the integration of [18F]FDG PET/CT in clinical and diagnostic guidelines on probable cyst infection in ADPKD patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Inflammation and Infection Imaging)
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