Objective To assess the damage of limbic system pathways in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography.Methods DTI tractography was used to acquire fiber numbers,fractional anisotropy (FA),mean diffusivity (MD) of cingulum,fornix,and uncinate fasciculus (UF) in 20 RRMS patients (MS group) and 20 healthy volunteers (control group),and statistical analysis was performed.Results Compared with control group,lower FA value (P＜0.01) and higher MD value (P＜0.05) were found in cingulum,fornix and UF of MS group,and the fiber numbers of fornix decreased in MS group (P＜0.001).There were significant differences between the left and the right UF in fiber numbers and FA value of control group and the fiber numbers of MS group.Negative correlations were found between FA value of cingulum and UF and EDSS scores in MS group (r=-0.572,-0.665,both P＜0.05),and positive correlations were found between MD value and EDSS scores (r=0.627,0.603,both P＜0.05).Conclusion DTI tractography is valuable in assessing MS associated limbic system damage and in monitoring the clinical progression of the disease.

Objective To assess the changes of white matter microstructure in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) with DTI based on tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method.Methods Conventional MR and DTI were performed in 20 NMOSD patients (NMOSD group) and 20 healthy volunteers (control group).DTI data were analyzed with TBSS procedure,which was a part of FSL software packages,and non-parametric statistical analysis was performed on the whole brain.Correlation between FA value of tracts with significant difference in NMOSD group and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) scores was analyzed.Results TBSS analysis revealed significantly (P＜ 0.05,FWE corrected) extensive decrease of FA value in cerebrum and cerebellum white matter fiber bundles,i.e.corpus callosum,fornix,corticospinal tract,unciform fasciculus,cerebellar peduncles etc.in NMOSD group,and decrease of AD value,increase of RD value in cingulum bundle,corpus callosum and fornix,while MD value only increased in fornix and retrolenticular part of the left internal capsule (P＜0.05,FWE corrected).Negative correlations were found between FA value of left uncinate fasciculus,right external capsule,left inferior cerebellar peduncle,bilateral anterior limb of internal capsule,medial lemniscus and EDSS scores (all P＜0.05).Conclusion Widespread white matter damage is observed in cerebrum and cerebellum in NMOSD patients by using TBSS analysis,which may partly correspond to the disabilities of NMOSD patients.However,the other microstructural changes of white matter tracts may suggest complicated pathological mechanism of NMOSD.

Objective:To investigate the application value of double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCEUS) combined with serum pepsinogen (PG) in the diagnosis of early gastric cancer(EGC).Methods:Eighty-two patients suspected of EGC from July 2020 to July 2022 in the People′s Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and preoperative DCEUS examination and PG test were performed, and the patients were divided into benign lesion group(13 cases), early gastric cancer group(57 cases) and progressive gastric cancer group(12 cases) using postoperative pathology as the gold standard. Parameters for comparison included time to peak (TTP), peak intensity (PI), enhanced intensity (EI), serum pepsinogen Ⅰ (PGⅠ), serum pepsinogenⅡ (PGⅡ) and their ratio (PGⅠ/PGⅡ). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DCEUS and PG alone and in combination for the diagnosis of EGC were analyzed by plotting the ROC curve, and its diagnostic value was compared.Results:In the comparison of DCEUS parameters, PI and EI values were higher in the malignant group than in the benign lesion group and TTP was the opposite, with statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). In the comparison of PG detection, PGⅠ and PGⅠ/PGⅡ were lower in the malignant group than in the benign lesions, and lower in the progressive gastric cancer than in the EGC, while PGⅡ was the opposite, with statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). As shown by the ROC curve results, the sensitivity of DCEUS and PG alone and in combination for the diagnosis of EGC was 80.7%, 73.7% and 87.7%, respectively; the specificity was 76.0%, 72.0% and 80.0%, respectively; and the accuracy was 79.3%, 73.2% and 85.4%, respectively. The area under curve (AUC) of the two modalities alone and combined were 0.784 (95% CI=0.669-0.898), 0.728 (95% CI=0.606-0.850) and 0.839 (95% CI=0.734-0.943), respectively, and the combined diagnosis had a higher diagnostic value than the single diagnostic modality. Conclusions:The combined diagnostic modality of DCEUS and PG can further improve the diagnostic efficacy of EGC and reduce its underdiagnosis rate, which has good application value.

Objective:To analyze the diagnostic and prognostic value of routine bone marrow examination in patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) based on PET-CT staging.Methods:Clinical data of 186 patients who received bone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration in Fujian Medical University Union Hospital from 2013 to 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into bone marrow biopsy + bone marrow aspiration group ( n=186) and PET-CT + bone marrow biopsy group ( n=139). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were compared between two groups. The data were analyzed and plotted. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results:In the whole cohort, 45 patients were positive for bone marrow biopsy, and 30 of them were positive for bone marrow aspiration. A total of 141 patients who were negative for bone marrow biopsy also achieved negative results for bone marrow aspiration. A total of 139 patients completed PET-CT staging and bone marrow biopsy. And 30 patients were diagnosed with positive bone marrow by PET-CT, in which 22 of them were confirmed positive by bone marrow biopsy. Among 109 patients diagnosed with negative bone marrow by PET-CT, 5 of them were confirmed positive by bone marrow biopsy. All these cases were classified as stage Ⅳ due to distant metastases. PET-CT had a diagnostic sensitivity of 81.5%, a specificity of 92.9%, a positive predictive value of 73.3%, and a negative predictive value of 95.4%. Among early stage (Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage) patients diagnosed with PET-CT, all of them were negative for bone marrow biopsy (the negative predictive value was 100%). In stage Ⅳ patients ( n=55), the 1-year overall survival of patients with bone marrow involvement by bone marrow biopsy or PET-CT ( n=35) compared with their counterparts with the involvement of other organs ( n=20) was 28.7% vs.42.0% ( P=0.13), and 1-year progression free survival rates was 23.2% vs. 23.3% in ( P=0.94). Conclusions:Routine bone marrow biopsy does not change the original staging of patients with early stage ENKTCL based on PET-CT staging. Advanced stage patients with positive bone marrow biopsy tend to obtain worse prognosis, indicating that bone marrow biopsy still has certain value.