Vertebral Artery Microcalcification Detected by 18F-NaF PET/CT

Shiv Patil; Nirmal Patel; Eric Teichner; Thomas Werner; Poul Flemming Høilund-Carlsen; Abass Alavi

doi:10.1097/RLU.0000000000005831

Vertebral Artery Microcalcification Detected by ¹⁸F-NaF PET/CT

Shiv Patil
, Nirmal Patel
, Eric Teichner
, Thomas Werner
, Poul Flemming Høilund-Carlsen
, Abass Alavi^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Intracranial atherosclerosis is a leading cause of stroke and cognitive dysfunction. Calcification of intracranial atherosclerotic plaques is commonly observed on noncontrast CT, yet structural imaging alone cannot visualize active microcalcifications characteristic of progressive atheroma. ¹⁸F-NaF is an emerging PET radiotracer of vascular microcalcification that may enable the detection of such pathophysiology. In this report, we present molecular microcalcification of the left vertebral artery incidentally found on ¹⁸F-NaF PET/CT of a 64-year-old man with risk factors for intracranial atherosclerosis.

Original language	English
Journal	Clinical Nuclear Medicine
Volume	51
Issue number	1
Pages (from-to)	e59-e60
ISSN	0363-9762
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1097/RLU.0000000000005831
Publication status	Published - 1. Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Keywords

F-sodium fluoride (NaF)
atherosclerosis
computed tomography (CT)
positron emission tomography (PET)
stroke

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Cite this

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abstract = "Intracranial atherosclerosis is a leading cause of stroke and cognitive dysfunction. Calcification of intracranial atherosclerotic plaques is commonly observed on noncontrast CT, yet structural imaging alone cannot visualize active microcalcifications characteristic of progressive atheroma. 18F-NaF is an emerging PET radiotracer of vascular microcalcification that may enable the detection of such pathophysiology. In this report, we present molecular microcalcification of the left vertebral artery incidentally found on 18F-NaF PET/CT of a 64-year-old man with risk factors for intracranial atherosclerosis.",

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AU - Teichner, Eric

AU - Werner, Thomas

AU - Høilund-Carlsen, Poul Flemming

AU - Alavi, Abass

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KW - atherosclerosis

KW - computed tomography (CT)

KW - positron emission tomography (PET)

KW - stroke

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