Abstract: Diabetes is a major frequent cause of atherosclerosis vascular disease. Arterial calcification in diabetic patients is responsible for peripheral vascular involvement. Molecular imaging using 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) has been recently proposed as a marker to study the in vivo mineralization process in the atheroma plaque. A 69-year-old man with a history of type 2 diabetes and no clinical evidence of peripheral arterial disease underwent an 18F-NaF PET/CT scan. A linear, well-defined 18F-NaF uptake was detected along the femoral arteries. In addition, the CT component of the PET/CT identified an unsuspected ?tram-track? calcification in his femoral arteries, suggestive of medial calcification (Mönckeberg?s sclerosis). In other vascular territories, focal 18F-NaF uptake was also detected in carotid and aorta atheroma plaques. Molecular imaging with 18F-NaF PET/CT might provide new functional information about the in vivo vascular calcification process in diabetic patients.

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