1,721,146 research outputs found
Left ventricular hypertrophy caused by arterial hypertension and degenerative aortic stenosis: how useful 123I-mIBG is
The study of the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is gaining increasing importance in several areas of cardiac pathology. In cardiomyopathy patients (of ischemic origin or not), myocardial assessment of early and late 123I-mIBG distribution, is widely recognized as a very powerful survival predictor. Furthermore, in general, we can affirm that chronic heart failure (CHF) patients have overactivation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone and SNS, which creates a vicious circle of remodeling and an accompanying worse prognosis
Autoradiographic localization of [3H]muscimol binding sites in rat stomach: evidence for mucosal GABAA receptors.
The distribution in the rat stomach of specific [3H]muscimol binding sites, which show characteristics of GABAA receptors, was examined by light microscopic autoradiography. Silver grains representing specific binding were present both in the antrum and body, with highest densities in the muscle layers. A small fraction of the binding was confined to gland cells of the mucosa in the gastric body, rather than in the antrum. The label was not specifically concentrated at the myenteric ganglia. These findings, along with earlier data, suggests that the local GABA content may regulate not only the contractility, but also the secretory functions of the stomach via gastric GABAA receptors
Administrative health claims and laboratory data to identified mCRPC or mCSPC patients: the way to go looks long but promising
N
Dosimetric principles of targeted radiotherapy and radioimmunotherapy
The use of radioisotopes in therapy represents a field of application that is constantly increasing. Therapy applications in nuclear medicine are expected to reach 40% of clinical activity in the 2020–2030 decade. Radionuclide therapy can be delineated into two main categories. The first approach uses the inherent biodistribution properties of the radionuclide, whereby it naturally accumulates in cancerous tissue. For example, radium-223 is a calcium-mimetic isotope incorporated in sites of increased bone turnover and osteoblastic activity. The second approach prefers the conjugation of the radionuclide to vectors such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), peptides, or small molecules to target tumor-associated antigens, allowing the possibility to treat a wide range of neoplastic pathologies. In principle, as is proper practice for therapeutic regimes with ionizing radiation, a dosimetric approach should be performed to optimize and personalize the treatment. The dosimetry of the lesion may be more effective in order to adapt and maximize the beneficial effects of the treatment
DASciS software: a scintigraphic tool able to evaluate the scintigraphic load of bone disease as a survival predictor in mCRPC Radium-223 patients
Early 18F-FDG PET/CT in COVID-19
We report the case of who has been hospitalized complaining about fever in the last 4 days. Laboratory data revealed lymphocytopenia and leucopenia with an elevation of C-reactive protein and positive real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Six days before this hospitalization, when the patient was asymptomatic, 18F-FDG PET/CT images were performed for the therapeutic control of liver metastases of colorectal cancer. Lung abnormality findings at 18F-FDG PET/CT images, unrelated to cancer metastases, but suspicious for viral infection, may suggest the presence of COVID-19 disease in its early phase before symptoms onset. Since PET/CT is more sensitive than CT scan in detecting host’s reaction, the added value of this technique could be monitoring disease progression and could be used as a biomarker of lung disease activity and therefore as an important tool for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the progression of lung disease
The new bone WB-SPECT/CT: hybrid, from head-to-toe and digital! Is it worth the effort?
Introduction.
A bone scan (BS) plays a pivotal role in many oncological and non-oncological conditions. The planar BS is characterized by high sensitivity but low specificity. With respect to planar imaging, the implementation of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has allowed increased image contrast and more accurate tracer localization.
Areas covered.
Recent technological innovations in the field of BS are treated, with a particular focus on multi-field-of-view devices allowing to cover the entire scan length with a 3D acquisition (WB-SPECT/CT). In addition, the applications of cadmium zinc telluride/CzT detectors capable of converting gamma photons directly into electrical impulses (i.e. ‘digital SPECT’) are discussed.
Expert opinion.
Initial clinical experiences indicate that WB-SPECT/CT is characterized by higher sensitivity, diagnostic accuracy, and increased confidence in image interpretation with respect to the ‘old-fashioned’ BS (planar images with or without a single field-of-view SPECT). Furthermore, CzT-based detectors, thanks to their superior sensitivity, might be helpful to implement fast acquisition protocols. Further studies are needed to better define the clinical impact of bone CzT WB-SPECT/CT on patients’ management and outcome, as well as its cost–benefit ratio
111In-Octreoscan SPECT/CT hybrid imaging and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT in neuroendocrine adenoma of the middle ear (NAME)
Neuroendocrine adenoma of the middle ear (NAME) represents a rare tumour consisting of an adenoma with mixed neuroendocrine differentiation. A 40-year-old woman was referred to our attention to further investigate the occurrence of a pathological tissue located in the mastoid process of the left temporal bone depicted by head CT and MRI scans. Histopathological examination revealed an epithelial neoplasm with neuroendocrine differentiation features, consistent with the diagnosis of NAME. In order to obtain an accurate differential diagnosis and confirmation of this rare disease, 111In-Octreoscan single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT were performed, both showing overexpression of somatostatin receptors and thus corroborating the histopathological findings
Autoradiographic localization of the GABA-A-receptor agonist (3H)-muscimol in the rat intestinal musculature.
Radioreceptor-binding assay and autoradiography were used to study the pharmacological profile and the anatomical localization of GABA-A-receptor sites in sections of rat duodenum, jejunum and ileum. (3H)-Muscimol, used as a ligand, was bound by sections of the intestinal portions investigated in a manner consistent with the labeling of GABA-A-receptor sites. The dissociation constant (Kd) was about 12.5 nmol/l in the three different intestinal portions. The maximum density of binding sites (Bmax) was highest in the duodenum (118.9 +/- 7.4 fmol/mg tissue followed, in descending order, by the jejunum (105.8 +/- 6.3 fmol/mg tissue) and the ileum (67.8 +/- 5.9 fmol/mg tissue). Light microscope autoradiography revealed a dense accumulation of specific silver grains within intestinal smooth muscle. In the duodenum (3H)-muscimol-binding sites were rather homogeneously distributed both in circular and longitudinal smooth muscle. In the jejunum the density of silver grains was similar to that seen in the duodenum in the circular musculature and lower in the longitudinal musculature. The ileum displayed the lowest accumulation of (3H)-muscimol-binding sites, with no significant differences in the density of silver grains between the two muscular layers. The possible significance of the GABA-A-receptor sites observed in the intestinal musculature is discussed
Potential prognostic value of miR-132 and miR-212 expression in mCRPC patients
To the Editor, we have been very pleased to read the interesting work proposed by Salemi et al. regarding the expression of specific fragments of microRNA (miRNA), particularly miR-132 and miR-212, as potential key regulators in prostate cancer (PCa). As outlined by the Authors, the altered expression of miRNAs in cancer pathogenesis represents a well-consolidated knowledge in the current literature. More specifically, both miR-212 and miR-132 regulate subsets of genes involved in tumor progression in several tumor cell types as PCa, proving a central role in tumorigenesis, cell adhesion, and angiogenesis. In addition, a strong association between miR-132 expression and high Gleason score PCa has been lately depicted [...]
- …
