While liver biopsies are powerful and reliable, they are also invasive, painful, limited and subject to complications. These effects may soon be a thing of the past for some patients thanks to new research showing PET imaging with the F-FAC radiotracer can be used as a non-invasive substitute. The study is featured in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Sometimes immune cells work a little too hard, leading to attacks on our organs, especially in instances of organ transplant. What results is a lifetime reliance on immunosuppressant drugs, which need to be carefully administered to ensure they are working as intended without dangerous side effects. Physicians look for T cells to determine whether an organ is under attack, requiring a biopsy to sample tissues. Now, PET imaging might offer a non-invasive alternative in the case of immune cell attack on the liver.
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