Purpose: because of the increasing prevalence of diabetes, complications of diabetes will also become more prevalent. The pathophysiology of Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy (Charcot disease) as a complication of diabetes is still enigmatic. As a consequence, the optimal diagnostic, follow-up, and therapeutic strategies are unclear. To obtain more insight into the relation between bony abnormalities and the (concurrent) inflammatory response in acute Charcot disease, thereby creating more insight into the pathophysiology of this disease, we performed F-18 FDG PET/CT scanning.
Research design and methods: We performed F-18 FDG PET/CT and Tc-99m bone scintigraphy in 10 patients with Charcot disease. Bony abnormalities on CT-scan and areas of increased uptake on F-18 FDG PET and Tc-99m bone scintigraphy were assessed independently. Subsequently, fused PET/CT images were evaluated for number and location of PET lesions.
Results: nine patients had increased uptake of F-18 FDG, indicating inflammation, in 25 areas of soft tissue and/or bone without concurrent bony abnormalities on CT.
Conclusions: presented F-18 FDG PET/CT data may indicate an inflammatory origin of Charcot disease, with secondary bone resorption, possibly due to decreased inhibitory neurogenic inflammatory responses as a result of small fiber neuropathy. If these findings can be confirmed in future studies, F-18 FDG PET/CT scanning may be added to the diagnostic arsenal in Charcot disease, and anti-inflammatory drugs may be added to the therapeutic arsenal.