Comparative Analysis of Kinetic Models to Study Glucose Metabolism of the Brain

In vivo glucose metabolism of the brain was examined using the [18F] fluoro-deoxy-D- glucose (FDG) analogue of the glucose. A relatively high number (20–25) of volumes of interest (VOI) were defined on the PET images. Data of the kinetic studies belonging to these VOI-s were evaluated using the standard uptake value (SUV) method, or calculating glucose metabolic rate (GMR) applying Patlak analysis (PA); and three-compartment model with nonlinear regression (TCM). Correlation of data for all pairs of calculated parameters showed that accurate determination of glucose utilisation in anatomic regions of white matter and those located next to large blood vessels require application of the three-compartment tracer kinetic model calculations with no simplifying assumptions.