This study, just published in the highly respected journal 'Annals of Neurology' lends support to the concept of persisting inflammation, as detected by 18FDG PET, portends early stroke recurrence. In fact, 18FDG uptake was the only factor on multivariate analysis to predict recurrence, out-performing stenosis degree and age. If the SUV was above 2.1, 80% of subjects had recurrent events within 90 days.
What we need now is a prospective study of an FDG PET-guided approach to risk stratification and management compared with standard medical/surgical care.
The SUV value is in the same ballpark as that seen in other PET studies of atherosclerosis, and less than frequently noted in untreated active vasculitis.
This study provides a counterpart to the MRI one I published here yesterday.
Any thoughts?