Carotid cavernous fistula is the abnormal arteriovenous communications, which can be located within the internal carotid cavernous segment itself, or between the cavernous and the internal carotid branches or external carotid meningeal branches. With the development of interventional neuroradiology, endovascular embolization has become the choice of treatment for the carotid cavernous fistula, as the technique is less invasive, simple and reliable. This paper aims to review the recent progresses in this respect in order to further improve its clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To compare the short-term effects between interventional arterial embolization and iodine-131 therapy in treating Graves'disease.Methods A total of 84 patients with Graves'disease (GD),confirmed by clinical data and laboratory tests,were divided into two groups:interventional group(n=42)receiving arterial embolization and iodine-131 group(n=42)receiving iodine-131 therapy.Before and after the treatment thyroid angiography and SPECT/CT imaging were performed to determine the shape and size of the thyroid,and radioimmunoassay method was used to measure serum levels of FT3,VF4,TSH and TRAb at 3.6 and 12 months after the therapy.The results were compared and statistically analyzed.The occurrence of complications was observed. Results No statistically significant difference in short-term therapeutic effects was found between interventional group and iodine-131 group.The occurrence of early severe complication was much higher in interventional group than that in iodine-131 group,while the occurrence of hypothyroidism was obviously higher in iodine-131 group than that in interventionai group.Conclusion Both interventional embolization and iodine-131 therapy have reliable effect for the treatment of Graves'disease.Iodine-131 therapy may be used in patients who plan to receive initial treatment or in patients who failed to effectively respond to other kinds of therapies,while interventional embolization may be employed in patients who are not able to receive surgery or in patients who have failed to respond to antithyroid drug treatment,or in patients whose iodine-131 intake rate is too low to undergo iodine-131 therapy,especially in patients with refractory and intractable hyperthyroidism. Interventional embolization can be regarded as an alternative treatment for Graves'disease.

Objective To investigate the clinical utility of SonoVue,a microbubble-enhancing contrast agent,in the treatment of uterine fibroids carrying different signal intensities on T2WI with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).Methods Based on the preoperative MRI signal intensity on T2WI,a total of 64 patients with uterine fibroids,who were scheduled to receive HIFU,were divided into low-intensity group (n =24),iso-intensity group (n =22) and high-intensity group (n =18).MRI check-up examination was performed one day after HIFU treatment to evaluate the ablation effect.The parameters related to HIFU,including therapeutic power,irradiation time and therapeutic dose,and the indexes related to therapeutic effect,including volume ablation rate (non-perfusion volume ratio,NPVR),energy-efficiency factor,treatment time,were recorded,and the results were compared between each other among the three groups.Results In the low-intensity group,iso-intensity group and high-intensity group,the volume ablation rates were (84.83±18.49)％,(8.72±17.76)％ and (71.11±23.87)％ respectively,the energy-efficiency factors were (6.87±7.77) J/mm3 (7.99±6.58) J/mm3 and (12.93±9.38) J/mm3 respectively,the treatment time were (102.12±54.45) min,(153.86±66.04) min and (141.50±69.56) min respectively.Single factor analysis indicated that statistically significant differences in volume ablation rate,energy-efficiency factor and treatment time existed between each other among the three groups.Among the total 64 patients,3 patients developed lower abdominal pain (6/64,9.4％),3 patients complained of general aches with numb (3/64,4.7％),and no severe complications,such as skin burn in treatment area,etc.,occurred in all patients.Conclusion The curative effect of SonoVue combined with HIFU for low-intensity and iso-intensity uterine fibroids is better than that for high-intensity uterine fibroids;the treatment time for low-intensity uterine fibroids is shorter than that for iso-intensity and high-intensity uterine fibroids.SonoVue is a safe and effective synergist for HIFU treatment.