Objective To evaluate the MRI features of neuropsychiatric abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus(NPSLE).Methods Brain MRI images of 21 cases with NPSLE confirmed by clinic were analyzed retrospectively.ADC values of the lesions and normal brain tissue were measured.Results Brain abnormal MRI findings in 20/21 cases were found(95%)including:(1)High signal intensity on DWI in 14 cases,11 were diffuse lesions,3 were focal lesions,4 of 14 combined with brain atrophy.The lesions mostly localized in white matter.The ADC values of the lesions in gray matter were decreased(t=2.513,P=0.019),while the ADC values of the lesions in white matter were increased(t=2.877,P=0.007).(2)2 cases only showed brain atrophy.(3)Leukoaraiosis presented in 2 cases.(4)Encephalomalacie presented in 2 cases,1 accompanied with brain atrophy.(5)No enhancement(3/5)and little patchy enhancement(2/5)were observed at contrast MRI study.Conclusion MRI plays an important role in displaying cerebral lesions and the location of it,progression and succession of NPSLE.

Objective To determine the efficacy of glucose-loweringtreatment by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS).Methods Bilateral frontal lobes of 45 male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) underwent 1 H-MRS separately bythe time it was first diagnosed.Among them,30 were treated with insulin,15 were rejected.The bilateral frontal lobes of all patients were re-examined with 1 H-MRS after 6 months.The ratios of metabolites in the frontal lobe were recorded and compared,and observing whether the lactate(Lac) peak appeared or not.Results Significantly higher values of the N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr)ratio and NAA/choline (Cho) ratio after 6 months (2.414 2± 0.206 6 and 2.244 2±0.341 5) were found in bilateral frontal lobes compared with pre-therapy (1.905 3±0.135 7 and 1.906 0±0.322 1)(P＜0.05).Significantly lower values of the NAA/Cr ratio and NAA/Cho ratio in the refuse treatment group(1.504 2 ± 0.262 4 and 1.510 0± 0.220 8) were found in bilateral frontal lobes compared with pre therapy (1.960 0±0.175 0 and 1.880 8±0.297 0)(P＜0.05).Lac peak was not detected in the all experiments.Conclusion 1 H-MRS provides valuable information in the assessment and evaluation of clinical efficacy and prognosis of T2DM by detecting the changes of brain metabolism.

Objective To access the changes of lung function of newborns with pneumonia and to investigate the feasibility of measuring lung function in the body plcthysmograph for diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases.Methods There were 117 infants,1 day after being diagnosed with mild or moderate pneumonia,aged 4-28 days,involved in the study,those who needed oxygen cure,mechanical ventilation,or had complications from pneumonia were ruled out.Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed in the baby body plethysmography to access tidal breathing,plethysmographic functional residual capacity (FRCp),and effective airway resistance (Reff).The other 126 contemporaneous healthy children took the same test for comparison.According to their ages,infants were grouped into 4-7 d,8-14 d,15-21 d and 22-28 d.Results Of the 117 infants with pneumonia,79 (67.5 ％ equivalently) had abnormal lung function.Compared with the controls,infants with pneumonia had significantly higher values of peak tidal expiratory flow [(59.4 ± 16.6) mL/s vs (52.9 ± 16.6) mL/s],expiratory flow at 75％ tidal volume [(57.4 ± 16.7) mL/s vs (49.5 ± 16.7) mL/s],special effective airway resistance (0.48 kPa · s vs O.27 kPa · s),Reff [6.96 kPa · s/L vs 4.82 kPa · s/L] and Reff per kilogram [1.99 kPa · s/(L · kg) vs 1.44 kPa · s/(L · kg)],but lower values of time to peak tidal expiratory flow as a percentage of total expiratory time [(26.5 ± 10.0) ％ vs (36.8 ± 9.9) ％],volume to peak tidal expiratory flow as a percentage of total expiratory volune [(27.9 ± 7.3) ％ vs (35.6 ± 8.4) ％]and expiratory flow at 25％ tidal volume [(36.3 ± 11.7) mL/s vs (40.1 ± 12.4) mL/s].There were no sig± nificant differences in the values of respiratory rate,FRCp and FRCp/kg between the pneumonia children and the healthy control chidren.Compared with the infants aged ≤ 14 days,there were more significant differences in relative parameters of lung funetion between the pneumonia group and the healthy control group for infants aged 15-28 days.Conclusions Newborns with pneumonia had a high ratio of abnormal lung function,which went up to 67.5％,and had apparent obstruction of small airways.Neonates with pneumonia aged 15-28 days had more apparent lesion of lang function.Measuring lang function by means of plethysmography among newborns is feasible and it can detect abnormal lung function sensitively.

Objective To investigate whether the perfusion of the solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) is homogeneous derived with 16-slice spiral CT and 64-sliee spiral CT. Methods Eight-five patients with. SPNs (diameter≤4 cm; 57 maliagnant;15 active inflammatory; 13 benign)underwent multi- location dynamic contrast material-enhanced serial CT. One scan was obtained every 1 seconds during 11- 41 seconds without scanning interval after injection, one scan was obtained at 90 seconds. TOSHIBA AquilionMerconi 16 : The section thickness was 8.0 mm for lesions 3.0-4.0 cm, 6. 0 mm for 2.0- 3.0 cm,4.0 mm for 1.5-2.0 cm,3.0 mm for 1.0-1.5 cm and 2.0 mm for lesions <1.0 cm. GE Lightspeed 64:The section thickness was 8.0 mm for lesions3.0-4.0 cm and 2.5 mm for <3.0 cm. Precontrast and posteontrast attenuation on every scan was recorded. The peak height , perfusion, ratio of peak height of the SPNs to that of the aorta and mean transit time of three central valid sections were calculated. The significance of the difference among groups was analyzed by means of ANOVA. Results The peak heights in three sections were ( 30.95±14.53 ), ( 25.10±13.32), (32.37±15.85) HU, respectively, the perfusions (33.01±21.35), (23.70±12.87), ( 29.00±15.47) ml·min-1·100 g-1, the ratios of peak height of the SPN to that of the aorta (13.58±6.41) %, (10.95±5.76) %, (13.64± 6.20)% and the mean transit times (11.61±5.74),(11.97±3.55), (13.44±3.74) s. Statistically significant differences were found among three sections in the peak height(F= 5.913,P=0.003), perfusion (F=6.464, P=0.002), ratio of peak height of the SPN to that of the aorta (F=5.333, P=0.005) and mean transit time (F= 3.837, P = 0.023). No statistically significant differences were found among three sections in precontrast attenuation ( F =0.032, P = 0.968). Conclusion The volume perfusion of the SPNs is inhomogeneous,it is suggested to evaluate blood flow patterns of the solitary pulmonary nodules with CT volume perfusion imaging.

Objective To investigate the characteristics and risk factors of central lymph node metastasis in clinically node negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) (T1 or T2 stage) coexisting with Hashimoto' s thyroiditis (HT).Methods A total of 398 patients undergoing thyroidectomy with central lymph node dissection were enrolled in the study.Patients were divided into the trial group (PTC with HT)and the control group (PTC without HT).The difference of the clinicopathological characteristics between the 2 groups and risk factors for central lymph node metastasis were analyzed.Results Among the total 398 patients,98 (24.6％)had coexistent HT.Central lymph node metastasis rate was similar in the 2 groups (40.8％ vs 41.3％).The number of dissected central lymph nodes was significantly more in the trial group than in the control group (4.9 vs 2.9,P＜0.01) while the number of metastatic lymph nodes had no statistical significance between the 2 groups (1.0 vs 1.0).Univariate analysis showed that tumor size＞1 cm was significantly associated with central lymph node metastasis in the trial group (P＜0.01).Male,＜45 years,tumor size＞1 cm,and tumor located in the middle/lower third of lobe were all significantly associated with central lymph node metastasis in the control group (P＜0.01).Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size＞1 cm was independent predictor for central lymph node metastasis in the trial group,while female,＜45 years,tumor size＞1 cm,and tumor located in the middle/lower third of lobe were all independent predictors for central lymph node metastasis in the control group.Conclusions The number of central lymph nodes was larger in cN0 PTC coexisting with HT patients than that in PTC patients,but there was no statistical difference in the number of metastatic lymph nodes between cN0 PTC with and without HT.Central lymph node dissection is recommended when tumor size 1 cm in cN0 PTC coexisting with HT patients.

Objective To evaluate the injury of pulmonary function of children with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis(IPH) and the changes after treatment,and to provide some guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of IPH.Methods Twenty-one children with IPH who were admiued at Children's Hospital of Fudan University between June 2012 and May 2016 were selected.The pulmonary function and clinical data of them were analyzed.Results The general pulmonary function of 21 children with IPH before treatment with glucocorticoid was reported that 4 cases (19.05％) were normal and 17 cases (80.95％) were abnormal,including 11 cases (52.38％) with restrictive ventilatory disorder,4 cases (19.05％) with mixed ventilatory disorder,1 case (4.76％) with obstructive ventilatory disorder,and 1 case (4.76％) with small airway dysfunction.Pulmonary function test was performed on 15 cases after 1-2 months of treatment with glucocorticoid.The results showed that maximal vital capacity (VCmax％) vs.the expected value was (77.91 ± 18.86)％ vs.(60.43 ± 23.70)％,forced vital capacity (FVC％) vs.the expected value was (78.96 ±19.24)％ vs.(61.03 ±24.62)％ and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1％) vs.the expected value was (86.03 ± 21.69) ％ vs.(65.17 ± 26.89) ％,which were significantly higher than those before treatment,and the differences were statistically significant (t =-4.13,-4.01,-4.54,all P ＜ 0.05).Three cases were followed up for 18 to 40 months by detecting pulmonary function and the results of dynamic monitoring of pulmonary function showed a fluctuation in FVC％ [case 1:(69.6-84.2) ％;case 2:(56.1-73.7) ％;case 3:(40.4-70.2) ％].Conclusion The characteristic pulmonary function changes in children with IPH are restrictive ventilatory disorder.Pulmonary function test play a significant role in diagnosis,treatment and prognosis of IPH.

Objective:To optimize the injection protocol of contrast medium for contrast-enhanced MRA (CEMRA) of pulmonary artery and to evaluate the diagnostic value of CEMRA and pulmonary perfusion imaging (PPI) in an experimental model of acute pulmonary embolism. Methods:CEMRA and PPI were performed in 6 normal pigs with different doses of gadolinium contrast agent (5ml, 10ml, 15ml, 20ml and 25ml) at an injection rate of 3ml/s, and 3 pulmonary embolism models were injected with 20 ml contrast agent at 3 ml/s. DSA was also performed for comparison. Results:The signal intensities and the signal to noise ratios of the pulmonary arteries kept increasing with the dose increase of the contrast agent, but the best angio-pulmonary contrast dose was 10-15ml (0.25-0.375mmol/kg), while the optimal dose for PPI was 15-20ml (0.375-0.5mmol/kg). Although CEMRA demonstrated less obstructed pulmonary arteries than DSA (5/10 vs 8/10)did, it detected all obstructions when combined with PPI. The pulmonary infarction zones showed wedge-shaped perfusion defects on the PPI images, with the signal intensities lower than those of the normal areas (137.86±45.32 vs 330.14±46.52, P<0.001). Conclusion:It is suggested that the optimal dose of the contrast agent is 0.25mmol/kg to 0.375mmol/kg for CEMRA, and 0.375mmol/kg to 0.5mmol/kg for lung perfusion. CEMRA combined with PPI may be better than DSA in demonstrating pulmonary embolism.

Objective To investigate the clinical application of SWI in detecting calcifications of vertebral artery wall.Methods 1 95 patients who accepted craniocerebral CT scans,and MRI scans (includingT1 WI,T2 WI,T2 GFLAIR,SWI)in recent three years in the Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University were reviewed.Taking CT as a standard,the calcification of intracranial vertebral artery wall was analyzed using conventional MRI and SWI sequences,and their sensitivities and specificities were calculated.Correlations among various imaging modalities were assessed by measuring the maximum diameter of calcifications.Results The sensitivity of SWI was 93%, and the specificity of SWI was 9 9%.The sensitivity of conventional MRI was 3 1%,and the specificity of conventional MRI was 9 1%. The correlation between SWI and CT was R2＝0.77 (0.60－0.89),while the correlation between conventional MRI and CT was R2＝0.22 (0.02－0.80).Conclusion SWI has high sensitivity and specificity in detecting calcification of intracranial vertebral artery wall,and has a good correlation with CT in measuring calcification,which can be a inspection method to detect calcification of intracranial vertebral artery wall.

BACKGROUNDTo investigate the methods of dynamic enhanced multi-slice spiral CT in the evaluation of blood flow patterns of malignant solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs).

METHODSFifty-seven patients with malignant SPNs (≤4 cm) underwent dynamic multi-slice spiral CT (Marconi Mx8000) scan before and after contrast enhancement by injecting 90 ml contrast material with a rate of 4 ml/s. Twenty-nine patients in protocol one were scanned every 2 seconds during 15-45 seconds and 75-105 seconds after injection, while 28 patients in protocol two were scanned every 2 seconds during 11-41 seconds and 71-101 seconds. All patients were then scanned every 30 seconds during 2-9 minutes. The collimation was 2.5 mm for lesions of ≤3 cm and 5 mm for lesions of 3-4 cm. Standard algorithm was used in the image reconstruction. The perfusion, peak height, ratio of peak height of the SPN to that of the aorta and mean transit time were calculated.

RESULTSThe enhancement value, perfusion, ratio of peak height of the SPN to that of the aorta and mean transit time were (34.61±11.37) HU, (31.17±11.18) ml/(min*100 g), 13.90%±4.15%, (13.96±5.86) s separately in protocol one, and (36.54±10.89) HU, (29.80±8.80) ml/(min*100 g), 15.01%±4.83%, (13.34±5.12) s respectively in protocol two. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. In addition, mean transit time from all 28 patients in protocol two were obtained, but only part of them were measured in protocol one (22/29).

CONCLUSIONSDynamic enhanced multi-slice spiral CT is a kind of non-invasive method for quantitative evaluation of blood flow patterns of malignant solitary pulmonary nodules. It might have potential significance in angiogenesis research for lung cancer.

OBJECTIVEBody plethysmography is a typical method to measure functional residual capacity (FRC) and airway resistance (Raw). The aim of the study was to test the feasibility of measuring lung function with the body plethysmography in young children with acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) by evaluating changes and prognosis of lung function for infants with ALRI with or without wheezing via body plethysmograph.

METHODPulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed by using body plethysmography in 444 children with ALRI, aged 1-36 months, to assess their tidal breathing parameters such as ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory time (TPTEF/TE), ratio of volume to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory volume (VPTEF/VE), plethysmographic functional residual capacity (FRCP), FRCP per kilogram (FRCP/kg), specific effective airway resistance (sReff), effective airway resistance (Reff), Reff per kilogram (Reff/kg), etc. According to whether there was wheezing or not, children who had ALRI with wheezing were classified as Group-W, or without wheezing as Group-N. Changes or correlations of tidal breathing parameters and plethysmographic parameters were compared.One hundred and three contemporaneous healthy controls aged 1-36 months underwent the same tests for comparison. And 36 wheezing children accepted PFTs at follow-up in recovery phase.

RESULTMean values of TPTEF/TE in Group-W,Group-N and the Control respectively were (20.5 ± 6.7)%,(22.8 ± 6.5)%,(34.6 ± 5.0)% (F = 110.500, P < 0.001), while VPTEF/VE respectively were (23.0 ± 6.3)%,(25.2 ± 6.8)%,(34.5 ± 4.2)% (F = 107.800, P < 0.001). Compared to the Control,Group-W and Group-N had significantly higher values of FRCP (226 vs. 176 vs. 172 ml, χ(2) = 64.870, P < 0.001), FRCP/kg(24.40 vs.17.80 vs.17.60 ml/kg,χ(2) = 68.890, P < 0.001), sReff(1.00 vs. 0.52 vs. 0.46 kPa·s,χ(2) = 75.240, P < 0.001), Reff (3.90 vs.2.74 vs.2.20 kPa·s/L, χ(2) = 36.480, P < 0.001) and Reff/kg [0.42 vs. 0.29 vs.0.22 kPa·s/(L·kg), χ(2) = 29.460, P < 0.001]. Although 25 (12.8%) wheezing children with ALRI had normal values of tidal breathing parameters, they already had increased FRCP, FRCP /kg, sReff, Reff and Reff/kg (t = 2.221, 1.997, 2.502, 2.587, 2.539, all P < 0.05). Values of FRCP and Reff in infants caught ALRI were inversely correlated to that of TPTEF/TE and VPTEF/VE (P < 0.05); 36 children with wheezing who accepted PFTs at follow-up had shown significant decline in the specific parameters of plethysmography such as FRCP, FRCP/kg, sReff, Reff and Reff/kg (Z = -1.999, -2.195, -2.038, -1.823, -2.054, all P < 0.05), while no improvement in the main parameters of tidal breathing such as TPTEF/TE.

CONCLUSIONMeasuring lung function with the body plethysmography in young children with ALRI is feasible. FRC and Raw, as special lung function testing parameters of body plethysmography, were sensitive indicators reflecting impairment of lung function in infants with ALRI (especially for children caught ALRI with wheezing) and shows significant correlation with parameters from lung function testing via tidal breathing. Therefore plethysmography is worthy of clinical promotion.

Airway Resistance ; physiology ; Case-Control Studies ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Functional Residual Capacity ; physiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Plethysmography, Whole Body ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Sounds ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Tidal Volume