SCINTIGRAPHIC DETECTION OF INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION - NEW DEVELOPMENTS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON RECEPTOR INTERACTION

Various conventional radiopharmaceuticals are currently available for scintigraphic imaging of infection and inflammation. Although a wide v ariety of infectious and inflammatory foci can be detected with these agents, several disadvantages limit their application. These limitatio ns have stimulated the search for new radiopharmaceuticals. In the pas t decade a new class of radiopharmaceuticals has emerged: radiolabelle d receptor-specific small proteins and peptides. These proteins and pe ptides are naturally occurring inflammatory mediators which specifical ly bind to receptors abundantly present in the area of inflammation. I n addition, owing to their small size, they rapidly clear from all non target tissues. This paper provides an overview of these newly develop ed agents, focussing on imaging characteristics and in vivo uptake mec hanisms.