What does the pet/ct scan of the brain tell you?

Scan: Tells you if you have metastatic disease a primary tumor or a brain abscess.

Many things.: Depending on the indication, it can be demonstrate cancer, type of dementia, and the functional center of epileptogenesis (focal sources of seizures). A new tracer for amyloid protein (amyvid) is more specialized for detecting alzheimer's disease.

Test of metabolism: The MRI or cat deals with structure or anatomy, while pet focuses on function or physiology. Injections of a tracer can pinpoint localization of abnormal function, and these patterns can lead to diagnostic understanding and whether or not therapeutic interventions are making an impact.. Just wish it were not so expensive!

Looking for what?: It depends on what is being looked for. Pet/ct looks at the metabolism. Or the function of the area scanned (brain in this case), using different radioactive drugs, or tracers. The most common is f-18 fdg, an analog of glucose, which images glucose consumption. Other radiotracers look at protein synthesis or for evidence of the plaques that are associated with alzheimer's.

Depends...: Depends on the pet tracer used. Fdg (glucose) tells about tumor metabolism and can give insight into grade of tumor however there is a lot of glucose activity in the brain to begin with. Fdg and amyloid imaging agents can help evaluate different types of dementia. Epileptic foci can also be evaluated.