Sustained hyperglycemia allows the preferential labelling of pancreatic glycogen by D-[U-14C]glucose in control rats, as compared to animals previously injected with streptozotocin (STZ rats). The major aim of the present study was to investigate whether a sizeable difference between control and STZ rats could also be observed in terms of the radioactive content of the pancreatic gland 8 h after the intravenous injection of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose, both types of animals being examined at the same level of hyperglycemia. Although the radioactive content of muscle, liver and kidney was lower in STZ rats than in control animals, such a difference failed to achieve statistical significance in brain, hypophysis, pancreas and parotid gland. It is proposed, therefore, that 11C-labelled D-glucose, rather than 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose should be used in the perspective of the non-invasive imaging of the endocrine pancreas.

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