ORAL F-18 FLUORO-2-DEOXYGLUCOSE FOR PRIMATE PET STUDIES WITHOUT BEHAVIORAL RESTRAINT - DEMONSTRATION OF PRINCIPLE

We describe a method of orally administering F-18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucos e (FDG) for positron emission tomography (PET) scans to determine loca l cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (LCMRGlc), normalized to that o f whole brain, in fully conscious, non-restrained primates. Oral FDG-P ET studies were performed in both non-restrained and chaired monkeys, and in one human where results could be compared with traditional intr avenous FDG administration. The oral route of FDG administration gave images and whole brain-normalized PET LCMRGlc results comparable to th ose obtained by the intravenous route. This oral FDG-PET method may pr ovide a useful means by which to obtain measures of LCMRGlcs for brain structures, relative to each other, in non-restrained, non-drugged pr imates in field and laboratory studies. This method might also have cl inical applications for PET studies of children. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.