Abstract: Objective To observe the brain glucose metabolism after limb ischemic preconditioning (LIPC) for ischemic moyamoya disease with positron emission tomography (PET) and statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Methods 62 patients with ischemic moyamoya disease were enrolled and randomized into LIPC group (n=31) and control group (n=31). The glucose metabolism of patients was analyzed with PET before and after treatment in both groups, using the methods of radioactivity ratio and SPM. Results The glucose metabolism ratio improved more in the LIPC group than in the control group (P<0.01), and aggravated less than in the control group (P<0.001). As setting the glucose metabolism increased after treatment, there were 7 areas activated in LIPC group, including frontal, temporal and parietal lobes, and the KE=1121; while there were 5 areas activated in the control group, including frontal and parietal lobes, and the KE=292. As setting the glucose metabolism decreased after treatment, there was only frontal area activated in LIPC group, while there were 8 areas activated in the control group, including frontal, parietal, occipital lobes, and the KE=629. Conclusion LIPC may improve the brain glucose metabolism in patients with moyamoya disease, which can be observed with PET and SPM.

Key words: moyamoya disease, limb ischemic preconditioning, positron emission tomography, brain glucose metabolism, statistical parametric mapping