{"id":614522,"date":"2026-06-01T01:35:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T01:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/614522\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T01:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T01:35:24","slug":"new-spect-imaging-approach-distinguishes-inflammation-from-fibrosis-to-optimize-treatment-for-lung-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/614522\/","title":{"rendered":"New SPECT imaging approach distinguishes inflammation from fibrosis to optimize treatment for lung disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Figure 1.\u00a0CT and fused SPECT-CT images L to R of representative healthy control, pulmonary fibrosis participant & hypersensitivity pneumonitis participant.<\/p>\n

view more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit: Image courtesy of SNMMI.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles —\u00a0A new SPECT\/CT imaging approach can accurately differentiate inflammation from fibrosis in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients, according to new research presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2026 Annual Meeting. This molecular imaging technique has the potential to determine which patients would benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments and which would likely only experience harmful side effects.<\/p>\n

ILD includes more than 200 different types of lung conditions, and affects approximately 650,000 people in the United States, resulting in an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 deaths per year. Differentiating between fibrotic scarring and inflammation stages of disease is critical so that physicians can determine what treatment is best for the patient.<\/p>\n

“We saw during the Covid-19 pandemic — when all patients with the infection had inflammation that anti-inflammatory treatments were highly effective,”\u00a0 said Druin Burch, consultant physician at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, United Kingdom. “While current imaging techniques can provide a structural view of fibrosis in the lungs, there is no reliable, non-invasive way to identify inflammation. A tool that could detect inflammation in ILD patients could help pinpoint those most likely to respond to anti-inflammatory therapy.”<\/p>\n

Researchers investigated the molecular imaging agent \u2079\u2079\u1d50Tc-maraciclatide, which visualizes the formation of new blood vessels a cardinal feature of inflammatory disease. A total of 15 patients, five with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, five with fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and five healthy controls, underwent \u2079\u2079\u1d50Tc-maraciclatide\u00a0SPECT\/CT. Nuclear medicine physicians and thoracic radiologists classified the images based on radiological patterns, standardized uptake values, and target-to-background ratios.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0healthy\u00a0controls showed minimal tracer uptake in the lungs, whereas both groups of patients with ILD demonstrated distinct uptake. The target-to-background ratio was also numerically higher in the lung disease cohorts compared to the\u00a0healthy\u00a0controls.<\/p>\n

“Being able to differentiate the fibrotic and inflammation stages of ILD is not just beneficial to inform treatment decisions, but also for the development new therapies,”\u00a0 said Burch. “This approach has the potential to unlock a\u00a0wide\u00a0range of\u00a0anti-inflammatory drugs for ILD.”<\/p>\n

A Phase 3 study in a larger patient population is required before this imaging approach can be used outside the research setting. As \u2079\u2079\u1d50Tc\u2011maraciclatide\u00a0has received FDA Fast Track designation for imaging ILD, it could become available to patients within two years of initiating a Phase 3 trial.<\/p>\n

Abstract 261910. Imaging Lung Inflammation in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) with 99mTc-Maraciclatide a Therapy Selection Tool? Druin Burch, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom; Giles Dixon, Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, and Chris Scotton, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom; David Little, Sarah Cade, and Jonathan Rodrigues, Royal United Hospitals Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Jon Barnett, Serac Healthcare Ltd., London, United Kingdom; Shaney Barrat, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom; Toby Garrood, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; and Michael Gibbons, Royal Devon University Healthcare, Exeter, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Link to Abstract<\/a><\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

All 2026 SNMMI Annual Meeting abstracts can be found\u00a0online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and\u00a0theranostics–precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients\u00a0in order to\u00a0achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit\u00a0snmmi.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Journal<\/p>\n

Journal of Nuclear Medicine<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image:\u00a0 Figure 1.\u00a0CT and fused SPECT-CT images L to R of representative healthy control, pulmonary fibrosis participant &…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-614522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}