Molecular nuclear imaging: the radiopharmaceuticals (review).

Application of the nuclear approach for the detection of inherited diseases is an important goal for nuclear medicine and will likely result in an important breakthrough, which will, hopefully, lead to improved diagnoses of genetic defects and objective evaluations of the efficacy of therapeutic strategies. Although still largely in the research realm, molecular imaging is in the process of emerging as a vital component of the diagnosis of disease and monitoring of the therapy. The clinical research in nuclear medicine has made major advancements in the direction of molecular medicine and targeted therapy. In the past few years, exponential achievements have been accomplished in the development of molecular nuclear imaging agents, as described below.