SALIVARY-GLAND ACCUMULATION OF META-[I-131]IODOBENZYLGUANIDINE

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 25  (1) , 2-6
Abstract
Intense uptake of m-[131I]iodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) was observed in the salivary glands of patients undergoing scintigraphy for the location of suspected pheochromocytomas. This uptake of radioactivity was not due to free 131I derived from the 131I-MIBG but rather to uptake of 131I-MIBG by sympathetic neuronal elements in the salivary glands. In keeping with this, administration of tricyclic antidepressants reversibly blocked salivary uptake of 131I-MIBG. Furthermore, 131I-MIBG uptake was markedly diminished by the ipsilateral salivary glands in a patient with Horner''s syndrome, and was bilaterally diminished in a patient with severe idiopathic sympathetic autonomic neuropathy. The salivary gland uptake of 131I-MIBG may provide a means for the study of sympathetic innervation of these organs, and thus for the study of generalized disorders of autonomic innervation.