Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; therapy

Objective To evaluate the effect of non-linear blending function for dual-energy CT on image of pulmonary angiogra-phy.Methods 27 patients underwent dual energy CT pulmonary angiography(CTPA).Data obtained with 100 kVp,140kVp,and non-linear blending were divided into group A,B,and C respectively.CT value of emboli were measured.Corresponding signal to noise ratio(SNR )and contrast to noise ratio(CNR)were calculated.One-way Anova analysis and Friedman test were used to ana-lyze statistical significance among these values.Results On quantitative analysis of 27 patients,there was no statistical difference for CT value of CTPA among the three groups(P >0.05).For the noise,CNR and SNR,there were statistically significant among the three groups(P <0.05).Conclusion The non-linear blending function has certain advantages in improved image signal-to-noise ratio and it can be used in CT pulmonary angiography examination for patients suspected pulmonary embolism clinically .

Objective To investigate possible neural mechanism of anisometropic amblyopia by analysing the whole brain volume changes both in grey matter and white matter using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM).Methods Twelve anisometropic amblyopia patients and 12 age,gender and handedness matched healthy volunteers underwent 3-dimensional (3D) fast spoiled gradient echo (FSPGR)sequence scanning on 1.5 Tesla MR system.Raw data was processed and analyzed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM)5.ResultsCompared to healthy controls,the grey matter exhibiting significantly decreased volume in patients included right cuneus,bilateral occipital gyrus,right middle frontal gyrus,left middle temporal gyrus,right superior temporal gyrus,right precuneus,and middle part of right cingulate gyrus ( clusters ＞ 10).The grey matter showing increased volume in patients included right cerebellum,right parahippocampal gyrus,left precentral gyrus,and left superior frontal gyrus (clusters ＞ 10).The white matter volume in bilateral optic radiation and internal capsule,especially right optic radiation,decreased significantly in patient group (clusters ＞ 10 ).No white matter showed significantly increased volume in patient group.ConclusionVBM can be used to investigate the changes of grey matter volume and white matter volume in the whole brain of anisometropic amblyopia children,it provides a method to illustrate the presumed neuro-mechanism from a morphologic point of view.

Objective To analyze the resting-state functional connectivity of the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus in normal subjects with functional MRI and to investigate its preliminary application in post-stroke aphasia.Methods Eleven male patients with post-stroke aphasia and 11 male normal subjects were recruited in this study.Resting-state fMRI data were obtained with GE 1.5 T Twin speed MR Scanner.The fMRI data were processed with SPM2, AFNI and Matlab programs.Based on the results of previous fMRI study with category member generation task , the region of interest ( ROI ) was created in the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus The time course correlations between the ROI and other voxels within whole brain were analyzed.Intra-and inter-group analysis was performed with single sample t-test and two sample t-test.Results Brain regions showed positive resting-state functional connectivity with the ROI in normal subjects including left inferior/middle frontal gyrus , left premotor cortex , left precuneus , left insula , left putamen, right inferior frontal gyrus, right cerebellum and bilateral inferior parietal lobules (voxels 33-809, t=5.80-23.55,P<0.005,uncorrected).Brain regions functionally connected with the ROI in patients with post-stroke aphasia included left inferior/middle frontal gyrus , left premotor cortex , left precuneus , left inferior parietal lobules and right inferior frontal gyrus ( voxels 34-833, t =5.08-20.34, P<0.005, uncorrected ).The left fusiform gyrus was the only region showed significantly decreased functional connectivity with the ROI in the patients group (voxels 84,t=6.25,P<0.005, uncorrected).Conclusions The neural network related to language output exists in normal subjects at the resting-state.Resting-state functional connectivity can be used to investigate the neural mechanism of development and restoration of post-stroke aphasia.

Objective To analyze the pitfalls of 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computer tomography (PET-CT) scan in the diagnosis of 60 patients of tuberculosis mimicking malignancy.Methods The study included 60 patients with PET-CT diagnosis of probable malignancy.Fifty patients were proved to be tuberculosis by pathological examinations and 10 were diagnosed by clinical followup.The images of whole body were acquired at 60 min after administration of 222-555 MBq 18F-FDG.The PET-CT imaging characteristics and clinical data,including lesion size,distribution,standardized uptake value (SUV) were retrospectively analyzed.After the whole body scan of PET-CT,each patient had a chest spiral CT scan for detailed observation of lung lesions.Contrast enhanced CT (CECT) was performed in 8 patients.Results (1)Thirty patients were misdiagnosed as lung cancer,14 patients as malignant lymphoma,6 patients as malignant mesothelioma,3 as intestine carcinoma,2 as bone malignancy,1 patient as hepatocarcinoma,spleen malignancy,ovarian cancer,laryngocarcinoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma respectively.(2) 90.9％ (20/22) of patients showed normal level of serum CEA and 100％ (13/13) of patients showed normal level of CA199.Increasing serum CA125 was found in all patients (6/6) with activeTB patients accompanied with ascites,pleural fluid and (or) pericardial effusion.(3) 93.3％ (28/30)active tuberculosis showed accumulated 18F-FDG which was incorrectly interpreted as malignancy.The most common sites of TB lymphadenopathy were bilateral cervical tissues,which was accounted for 85.7％(12/14).CECT revealed characteristics of peripheral enhancement and central necrosis in tubercular lymphadenopathy,which was 87.5％ (7/8).Conclusions The diverse manifestations of TB on imaging and high uptake of 18F-FDG on PET imaging result in misdiagnosis of malignancy.It is important for radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians to identify the common imaging features and patterns of TB to make a correct diagnosis.Integration of reconstruction HR CT,PET-CT and lab examinations may improve the diagnostic accuracy.

Objective To assess the clinical value of dual-energy CT (DECT) Volume software in quantitative analysis of urate crystals.Methods The DECT data of 60 gout patients based on the American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria were analyzed retrospectively.The volumes of urate crystals were quantitatively analyzed by using Volume software with two senior radiologists.The results were statistically analyzed.Results Seventy-two joints of 60 gout patients were scanned by DECT.40 of 43 joints had urate crystals in foot and ankle with the average volume of (0.621±0.742) cm3;18 of 19 joints had urate crystals in knee with the average volume of (0.842±1.086) cm3;10 of 10 joints had urate crystals in hand and wrist with the average volume of (0.796±0.583) cm3.There was no statistical difference for volume measurement between two doctors (P>0.05).The volumes of urate crystals in 4 patients with regular medication were reduced.Conclusion Volume software of DECT can quantitatively analyze urate crystals with a good repeatability, which has high application value in clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring of gout.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Ketamine ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To screen for the pathogenesis-related genes of osteosarcoma and to assess their roles for the de- velopment of osteosareoma.Methods:Total RNA was extracted from 3 ATCC osteosarcoma cell lines and an osteoblastic cell line and was used to synthesize biotinylated cRNAs;the latter were hybridized to Affymetrix~(?)GeneChip~(?)U133A ar- rays and a gene with more than 2 folds of change was selected.Ten of the differentially expressed genes were chosen and the primers were designed and the synthesized.Then SYBR~(?)Green real-time PCR(RT-PCR)method was used to detect the expression of the 10 genes in 9 fresh osteosarcoma specimens.ABI Prism 7 000 system was used to analyze the differ- ent expression between osteosarcoma cell line and osteoblastic cell line.Results:We identified 58 up-regulated and 142 down-regulated genes in the 3 osteosareoma cell lines.Many of the genes were firstly reported to be related to the patho- genesis of osteosarcoma.These differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in energy and material metabolism,on- cogene,signal transduction gene,transcription- related genes,cell cycle-related genes,cell apoptosis-related gene,im- mune response gene,tumor suppressor genes,etc.The array results of 10 randomly selected genes were further verified by the RT-PCR in 9 fresh osteosarcoma specimens.Conclusion:Many genes are involved in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma. Gene microarray can help to discover the genes related to the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma,which may lay a foundation for studying the molecular mechanism of osteosarcom.

Objective To observe the expression of bcl-2 gene in cell apoptosis of neonatal rats followed by hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD) and investigate the mechanism of neuronal apoptosis after HIBD.Methods Fifty-four neonatal SD rats were used in 1 sham-operated group and 8 trial groups. The models of HIBD were established in neonatal rats by inhaling the mixed gases of 92 % N 2 and 8 % O 2, the animals were sacrificed by dislocation their heads at different time points(0.5,1,3,6,12,24,48,72 h), the hippocampus were dissected for morphological analysis. The neuronal apoptosis and the expression of bcl-2 gene in hippocampus were detected by the methods of immunohistochemistry. Results The apoptotic cells appeared at the time point of 3 h, and reached the peak at 48 h, then decreased. The positive cell of bcl-2 protein increased from the time point of 30 min and reached the peak at 6 h and then decreased gradually following HIBD. Conclusion The expression of bcl-2 gene plays a role in the process of neuronal apoptosis following HIBD.

Objective To retrospectively review the PET/CT imaging features of sarcoidosis and improve the diagnostic accuracy of this benign disease.Methods The PET/CT imaging characteristics and clinical data, including lesion size, distribution, standardized uptake value (SUV) and the ratio of misdiagnosis, of 11 sarcoidosis patients (5 confirmed pathologically and 6 clinically) were retrospectively analyzed.Results (1) Eleven patients had lymph node involvement:mediastinum and hilar lymphadenopathy in 11/11, supraclavicular fossa lymphadenopathy in 8/11, retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy in 8/11, pelvic cavity lymphadenopathy in 3/11.(2) Extrathoracic lesions were found in 7/11 with 4 lung involvement, 2 liver involvement, 1 parotid gland and temporalis involvement and 1 bilateral iliac and sacral bone involvement.(3) The size of the lesions ranged from 1.0 to 4.6 cm and the CT density ranged from 30 to 40 HU.The lesions in the lung are hypodense and in the liver are slightly hypo-or iso-dense.18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake of all lesions was definitely increased in 6 cases; 18F-FDG uptake of some lesions was moderately or definitely increased in 2 cases, and slightly increased uptake in 3 cases.(4) The PET/CT diagnosis was consistent with the final diagnosis in 6/11.The 5 cases of misdiagnosis were malignant lymphoma (4/11) and lung cancer ( 1/11 ).Conclusions Differentiation between sarcoidosis and lymphoma in patients presenting with hilar lynphadenopathy can be difficult.Whole-body PET/CT may be helpful in the differentiation of the two diseases.