Cerebral FDG Metabolic Pattern in Pediatric Patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Retrospective Study

Aims: Learning disabilities represent the most significant cause of lifetime morbidity in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. The cognitive phenotype of NF1 pediatric patients is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the cerebral glucose metabolic pattern in NF1 pediatric patients. Study Design: Retrospective. Place and Duration of Study: Saint Louis University Hospital, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, between May 2011 and May 2012. Methodology: Six NF1 pediatric patients underwent FDG PET/CT including the brain, for evaluation of extracranial neoplasm. Their brain PET images were compared with a pediatric comparison set (21 subjects) using Statistical Parametric Mapping. Significant differences between groups were examined at p<0.001, uncorrected for voxel height and p