Objective To investigate the CT characteristics of retroperitoneal extra-adrenal paraganglioma(PGL).Methods CT findings of 11 patients with pathologically confirmed retroperitoneal extra-adrenal PGL were analyzed retrospectively,and the relevant literature was reviewed.All patients received plain CT as well as contrast-enhancement CT scan.Results All of the 11 tumors were located in the retroperitoneal space around large blood vessels,including 2 functional and 9 unfunctional extra-adrenal paragangliomas.Eight of 11 cases were benign tumors which presented as round or oval masses with sharp margins,separated from surrounding structures clearly;while the rest 3 cases,which with indistinct edge,even more with the invasion of surrounding structures (renal artery,renal venous and pancreas),were confirmed to be malignant.Most of the tumors were heterogeneous on plain CT.It was common to see intratumoral necrosis or cystic degeneration in the tumors (9 cases),while hemorrhage or calcification was uncommon,which was found in 3 and 2 cases,respectively.Homogeneous intensity was only observed in 2 masses with diameter less than 4 cm.On contrast-enhanced CT image, the solid part of the tumors presented continuously significant enhancement.Dilated feeding artery was found in or around the masses (8 cases) in artery phase.Conclusion There are certain characteristics of retroperitoneal extra-adrenal paraganglioma on CT scanning, which are helpful for preoperative diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Continuous medical imaging education is important for radiologists to improve their image diagnosis ability.In order to adapt to the development of medical education,the department of radiology in Tangdu hospital had built a set of teaching-picture archiving and communication system (TPACS) with its own intellectual property rights based on its own advantages.This system was actively put into use for scholar radiologists and the efficiency and quality of education as well as the development of continuous education for scholar radiologists were improved and promoted conspicuously.

Objective To detect radiation-induced changes of temporal lobe normal-appearing white matter on conventional MRI following radiation therapy (RT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods The clinical and imaging features of 75 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed,all patients were confirmed by biopsy.All patients performed conventional MRI and Diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) examinations,and there was no abnormal finding on conventional MRI.Eighteen patients without radiotherapy were selected as the control group and fifty-seven patients with radiotherapy were as the experimental group.We divided the experimental group into five subgroups based on completion time of RT:group 1 (less than 3 months,n =16),group 2 (3 to 6 months,n =12),group 3 (6 to 9 months; n =10),group 4 (9 to12 months,n =8),and group 5 ( more than 12 months,n =11 ).The mean diffusivity ( MD),apparent diffusion coefficient ( ADC ),fractional anisotropy ( FA),radial diffusivity ( λ⊥ ) and axial diffusivity ( k ‖ ) were calculated in bilateral temporal lobe.One-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) test was used for comparison among groups.Results The mean λ⊥ values of the control group and experimental groups ( group1-5 ) after radiotherapy were ( 6.075 ± 0.341 ) × 10 -4 (6.700±0.379) × 10-4,(6.976 ±0.527) ×10-4,(6.621 ±0.388) ×10-4,(6.751 ±0.460) ×10-4,(6.222 ±0.256) × 10-4 mm2/s,respectively.The mean λ ‖ values of the control group and experimental groups were (12.524±0.713) ×10-4,(11.764 ±0.574) ×l0-4,(11.842±0.471) ×10-4,(11.569 ± 0.552) × 10-4,( 12.050 ±0.614) × 10-4,( 12.100 ±0.529) × 10-4 mm2/s,respectively.The mean FA values of the control group and experimental groups were 0.452 ± 0.030,0.379 ± 0.028,0.382 ± 0.028,0.389 ± 0.032,0.388 ± 0.022,0.423 ± 0.232,respectively.The three indicators were significantly different among groups ( F =10.485,4.625,16.539,respectively,P ＜ 0.05 ). Multiple comparisons showed that λ⊥ increased significantly in group 1-4 compared with that in the control group.In group 5,λ ⊥ was not significantly different from that in the control group,λ ‖ decreased in group 1-3 compared with that in the control group,but was not significantly different in the control group and group 4-5. In all experimental groups,FA decreased significantly. MD and ADC values in experimental groups were not significantly different from those in the control group. Conclusion Diffusion tensor imaging is a noninvasive and quantitative method to detect the structural changes in WM after RT and can provide scientific evidence for the early diagnosis and intervention treatment of radiation-induced changes.

Objective To explore the value of serum IgA,serum C3 and IgA/C3 ratio in the diagnosis and clinical monitoring of IgA nephropathy,which provide new insight for the alternatives of renal biopsy. Methods In the first affiliated hospital of Dalian Medical University,60 patients with IgAN,60 patients with non-IgAN and 40 healthy people were detected by blood biochemical indexes and immune indexes,such as the Urea,serum IgA and serum C3,IgA/C3 ratio. According to the healthy condition and Lee grading,we divided all the 160 patients into different groups. By comparing the blood biochemical indexes and immune indexes among these different groups,we investigated the relationship between the serum IgA/C3 ratio and the IgAN.Results Firstly,the level of serum IgA and IgA/C3 were obviously different among the patients with IgAN,patients with non-IgAN and healthy people(P<0.01).Secondly,the serum IgA and IgA/C3 have high specificity and sensitivity when distin-guishing between IgAN and non IgAN. Thirdly,the level of serum IgA and IgA/C3 have significant deference be-tween the patients with Lee Ⅰ-Ⅱ grading and the patients with Lee Ⅲ-Ⅴ grading,while the level of C3 is very similar between different groups in all the three situations mentioned above. Conclusion Our research provides stronge evidence demonstrates that the level of serum IgA/C3 ratio have close relationship with IgAN and they can serve as the reference index when diagnosising and grading IgAN.

Objective:To analyze the clinicopathological features of intraabdominal bronchogenic cyst.Methods:The clinical data of 8 patients with intraabdominal bronchogenic cyst admitted in 3 Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Yunnan province between 2014 and 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical and pathological features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of intraabdominal bronchogenic cyst were reviewed.Results:There were 1 male and 7 females with an mean age of 45±12 years (21-65 years). Two patients presented with abdominal pain and 5 asymptomatic patients were found during physical examination. The cysts were located in retroperitoneum in 4 cases, located between the pancreas tail, spleen and the posterior wall of the stomach in 2 cases, located in the posterior wall of the stomach in 1 case, and located close to left adrenal gland in 1 case. Two patients had elevated tumor markers, while tumor markers in the remaining 6 cases were normal. Seven cases underwent laparoscopic complete cyst resection and 1 case had open surgical resection. The wall of most cysts were lined with respiratory epithelium and composed of goblet cells or pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium. The wall of cysts was composed of fibrous connective tissue or smooth muscle bundles, and the cavity contained serous mucous glands. Two cases showed cartilage tissue and one showed the infiltration of large number of inflammatory cells. The mean follow-up time was 31±32 months (range 5-107 months), and no recurrence or metastasis was found during the follow-up.Conclusions:Abdominal bronchogenic cyst is often found in adulthood, and most cases are symptomatic and found during physical examination. The diagnosis mainly depends on pathological examination, and tumor markers are not specific for its diagnosis. Surgery is the best way for treatment.

The syndrome of dampness stagnancy due to spleen deficiency (DSSD) is relatively common globally. Although the pathogenesis of DSSD remains unclear, evidence has suggested that the gut microbiota might play a significant role. Radix Astragali, used as both medicine and food, exerts the effects of tonifying spleen and qi. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) comprises a macromolecule substance extracted from the dried root of Radix Astragali, which has many pharmacological functions. However, whether APS mitigates the immune disorders underlying the DSSD syndrome via regulating gut microbiota and the relevant mechanism remains unknown. Here, we used DSSD rats induced by high-fat and low-protein (HFLP) diet plus exhaustive swimming, and found that APS of moderate molecular weight increased the body weight gain and immune organ indexes, decreased the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and endotoxin, and suppressed the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-‍κB (TLR4/NF-‍κB) pathway. Moreover, a total of 27 critical genera were significantly enriched according to the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe). APS increased the diversity of the gut microbiota and changed its composition, such as reducing the relative abundance of Pseudoflavonifractor and Paraprevotella, and increasing that of Parasutterella, Parabacteroides, Clostridium XIVb, Oscillibacter, Butyricicoccus, and Dorea. APS also elevated the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Furthermore, the correlation analysis indicated that 12 critical bacteria were related to the body weight gain and immune organ indexes. In general, our study demonstrated that APS ameliorated the immune disorders in DSSD rats via modulating their gut microbiota, especially for some bacteria involving immune and inflammatory response and SCFA production, as well as the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. This study provides an insight into the function of APS as a unique potential prebiotic through exerting systemic activities in treating DSSD.
Rats ; Animals ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Spleen ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; Polysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Astragalus Plant/metabolism* ; Immune System Diseases/drug therapy* ; Body Weight