Age-related normal uptake of 99mTc-MDP in the lower spine
Sundkvist, G.M.; Lilja, B.; Mattsson, S.
Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear Medicine 36(2): 52-55
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-5566 PMID: 9090647 Document Number: 471202
The uptake of 99mTc-MDP in the lower spine was quantified in connection with ordinary bone scintigraphy. Fifty-seven women and seventy-two men (aged 20-69 y), with no signs of metabolic or malignant disease and no history of back pain or atraumatic fractures, were included in the study. The women showed an increase in 99mTc-MDP uptake from the age of 20 y to about 45 y with a decrease from the time of menopause. In contrast to women, the uptake in men showed a slight decrease from the age of 20 y to about 50 y and thereafter a more marked decrease was seen. The major difference between men and women is the high premenopausal uptake in the female skeleton. An understanding of age-related changes in 99mTc-MDP uptake, which are indices of the skeletal metabolism, is of importance especially in prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, a common disorder in postmenopausal women.