1. Severity of bone marrow involvement in patients with Gaucher's disease evaluated by scintigraphy with 99mTc-sestamibi
- Author
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Mariani, G, Filocamo, M, Giona, F, Villa, G, Amendola, A, Erba, P, Buffoni, F, Copello, F, Pierini, A, Minichilli, F, Gatti, R, Brady, R, Mariani, Giuliano, Filocamo, Mirella, Giona, Fiorina, Villa, Giuseppe, Amendola, Angela, Erba, Paola, Buffoni, Ferdinando, Copello, Francesco, Pierini, Anna, Minichilli, Fabrizio, Gatti, Rosanna, Brady, Roscoe O, Mariani, G, Filocamo, M, Giona, F, Villa, G, Amendola, A, Erba, P, Buffoni, F, Copello, F, Pierini, A, Minichilli, F, Gatti, R, Brady, R, Mariani, Giuliano, Filocamo, Mirella, Giona, Fiorina, Villa, Giuseppe, Amendola, Angela, Erba, Paola, Buffoni, Ferdinando, Copello, Francesco, Pierini, Anna, Minichilli, Fabrizio, Gatti, Rosanna, and Brady, Roscoe O
- Abstract
Gaucher's disease is a lysosomal storage disorder due to a genetically transmitted deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. In the most common form of the disease (type 1), accumulation of glucosylceramide in the reticuloendothelial cells of liver, spleen, and bone marrow leads to visceromegaly, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and osteopenia. Skeletal manifestations secondary to infiltration of the bone marrow by Gaucher's cells are detectable by radiography only in advanced stages. Imaging of bone marrow involvement can be performed indirectly by magnetic resonance techniques or by bone marrow scintigraphy with radiocolloids. However, both procedures lack specificity because the normal bone marrow, rather than the pathologic process, is imaged. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of 99mTc- sestamibi scintigraphy for direct evaluation of bone marrow involvement. Methods: Seventy-two patients with type 1 and 2 patients with type 3 Gaucher's disease (35 males, 39 females) were enrolled in the study. The mean age ± SD was 31.9 ± 16.5 y (range, 3-76 y), and the average duration of the disease manifestations when performing scintigraphy was 12.95 y (median, 10.5 y; range, 0-44 y). Forty-three of 74 patients had never received enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), whereas 31 patients were already being treated with ERT. 99mTc-Sestamibi was injected intravenously (6-8 MBq/kg of body weight) and imaging was recorded at the lower limbs 30 min after injection, at the plateau of tracer accumulation in the involved bone marrow. The scans were evaluated visually, assigning a semiquantitative score based on the extension and intensity of uptake in the bone marrow of the lower limbs (0 = no uptake; 8 = maximum uptake). The scintigraphic score was entered into complex statistical analysis, which included a series of clinical and blood chemistry parameters defining overall severity of the disease. Results: 99mTc-Sestamibi scintigraphy showed that 71 of 74 patients had some
- Published
- 2003