Letter from the editors

TY - JOUR

T1 - Letter from the editors

AU - Freeman, Leonard M.

AU - Blaufox, M. Donald

N1 - Funding Information: The United States Congress and President George Bush have declared the 1990s the "decade of the brain." The achievements of positron emission tomography (PET) in depicting brain function were recognized by Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, MD, in his address to the 37th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine on June 19, 1990. Dr Sullivan stated "The National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ... was instrumental in supporting the development of the PET research technology. In only 11 years since the first PET centers were funded, PET has more than demonstrated the value of its ability to reveal the biochemistry and metabolism of the living human brain. The importance of PET's use in basic and clinical research of such widespread and devastating disorders as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's dis- eases, epilepsy, stroke, heart disease, and brain tumors, cannot be overstated." Enlightened government officials, like Dr Sullivan, provide good reason to be optimistic. The future of brain SPECT is intimately linked to developments in PET. This is elucidated in Alavi's article comparing and contrasting the two technologies. As more and more developments in areas such as PET receptor pharmaceuticals evolve, so will comparable progress occur in the development of single photon agents required for SPECT, This, in turn, should stimulate interest among concerned clinicians as they are educated. This issue also includes a proffered article on the ever-important issue of radioactive decontamination in the nuclear medicine laboratory. Beside basic considerations relating to departmental design and operational procedures, Mountford reviews general and specific techniques for handling decontamination of involved personnel as well as the departmental facilities, The decontamination of external and internal sites in the body is described clearly in detail. This review will serve as an extremely useful reference source to all physicians, basic scientists, and technical staff who deal with the handling and/or administration of radioactive materials and the potential for contamination.

PY - 1991/1

Y1 - 1991/1

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58149204750&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=58149204750&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/S0001-2998(05)80074-1

DO - 10.1016/S0001-2998(05)80074-1

M3 - Letter

AN - SCOPUS:58149204750

SN - 0001-2998

VL - 21

SP - 1

JO - Seminars in Nuclear Medicine

JF - Seminars in Nuclear Medicine

IS - 1

ER -