Publications by authors named "Akira Baba"

Purpose: This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate whether non-echoplanar diffusion-weighted MRI (non-EP DWI) lesion size and detectability can predict mastoid extension and complications such as labyrinthine fistula and dural exposure in middle ear cholesteatoma.

Methods: This retrospective study included 120 lesions with surgically confirmed middle ear cholesteatoma. Non-EP DWI was performed within 6 months preoperatively and evaluated for lesion detectability and size measurements, including maximum axial diameter, maximum axial area, and volume.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Moth-eye nanostructures, known for their biological antireflective properties, are formed by a self-assembly mechanism. Understanding and replicating this mechanism on artificial surfaces open avenues for the engineering of bioinspired multifunctional nanomaterials. Analysis of corneal nanocoatings from butterflies of the genus reveals a variety of nanostructures with uniformly strong antiwetting properties accompanied by varying antireflective functionalities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Differentiating intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma from other parotid tumors, particularly pleomorphic adenoma, is clinically crucial due to significant differences in treatment approaches. We report a case of a male patient in his 70s presenting with a left parotid mass. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed a mass within the left parotid gland exhibiting the characteristic ``target sign''.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To comprehensively summarize the characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of uterine adenosarcoma through a systematic review and case series analysis.

Methods: A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases on June 3, 2024. In total, 25 cases from 23 articles were selected, and five cases from the authors' institution were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To evaluate previously reported quantitative (tumor thickness 11 mm and depth of invasion [DOI] 7.5 mm) and qualitative (styloglossus/hyoglossus muscle invasion [SHMI]) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters for predicting occult neck node metastasis in clinical N0 oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 76 patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluated the performance of multimodal large language models (LLMs), specifically GPT-4o, Claude 3 Opus, and Gemini 1.5 Pro, on questions from the Japanese Nuclear Medicine Board Examination (JNMBE) to see how visual information affects decision-making.
  • 92 questions from recent exams were used, where each model answered questions in both text-and-images and text-only conditions, and their accuracy and agreement rates were statistically assessed.
  • Results showed no significant accuracy differences between the conditions, with most models performing poorly overall, indicating that while image utilization is limited, further improvements are necessary for LLMs to be effective in nuclear medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare malignant tumor of the upper nasal cavity. The Hyams classification is an important histological grading system for diagnosing recurrence and predicting survival in ONB. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis in distinguishing between high-grade and low-grade ONB based on the Hyams classification system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Incorporating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into organic solar cell (OSC) structures provides an effective means to manipulate light-matter interactions. AuNPs have been used as plasmonic-enhancement and light-trapping materials in OSCs and exhibit diverse single and mixed morphologies. Substantial near-field enhancement from metal periodic structures has consistently demonstrated high enhancement in solar cell efficiency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cytokines are small secreted proteins that have specific effects on cellular interactions and are crucial for functioning of the immune system. Cytokines are involved in almost all diseases, but as microscopic chemical compounds they cannot be visualized at imaging for obvious reasons. Several imaging manifestations have been well recognized owing to the development of cytokine therapies such as those with bevacizumab (antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and the establishment of new disease concepts such as interferonopathy and cytokine release syndrome.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The study found significant adrenal issues, including ischemia/infarction in 11 patients and hemorrhage in 9, with all patients showing some form of adrenal enlargement (adrenomegaly).
  • * Results indicate that imaging characteristics like poor enhancement on CT for ischemia/infarction and high attenuation on non-enhanced CT for hemorrhage can help differentiate TAFRO syndrome from other conditions like idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The research involved 24 patients and found that those who experienced tumor recurrence had significantly lower tumor reduction rates after treatment compared to those who did not experience recurrence.
  • * The authors concluded that MRI-measured tumor reduction rates could help identify patients at higher risk of cancer recurrence and suggest that early intervention, like salvage surgeries, might be beneficial for those with lower reduction rates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Radiological differentiation between extra-nodal lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck is often difficult due to their similarities.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic benefit of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) calculated from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in differentiating the two.

Material And Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching the MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To comprehensively summarize the clinical data and CT/MRI characteristics of thyroid-like low-grade nasopharyngeal papillary adenocarcinoma (TL-LGNPPA).

Methods: Twenty-seven lesions from 25 study articles identified through a systematic review and three lesions from our institution associated with TL-LGNPPA were evaluated.

Results: The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 35.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is a carcinoma that arises from a primary or recurrent benign pleomorphic adenoma. The prevalence of epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma is low, and this histological type accounting for only 1% of all salivary gland tumors. Here, we report a rare case of Epithelial-Myoepithelial Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland with a radiologic-pathologic correlation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of the Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System (NI-RADS) in detecting recurrence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma based on different NI-RADS categories.
  • It analyzed data from 7 studies involving 694 patients, finding that NI-RADS 3 had the highest estimated recurrence detection rates for both primary lesions (74.4%) and cervical lymph nodes (73.3%).
  • The meta-analysis suggests that NI-RADS 3 is more accurate than NI-RADS 2 for detecting recurrence, but cautions that the varied data quality in studies limits the reliability of the conclusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: In the latest World Health Organization classification 2021, grade 4 adult diffuse gliomas can be diagnosed with several molecular features even without histological evidence of necrosis or microvascular proliferation. We aimed to explore whole tumor histogram-derived apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram profiles for differentiating between the presence (Mol-4) and absence (Mol-2/3) of grade 4 molecular features in histologically lower-grade gliomas.

Methods: Between June 2019 and October 2022, 184 adult patients with diffuse gliomas underwent MRI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Currently, there is no definitive consensus on the optimal imaging modality for determining the treatment response in patients with skull base osteomyelitis (SBO). This study aimed to investigate the utility of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) as treatment response markers of SBO.

Material And Methods: This study included 6 patients with SBO, who underwent both pre- and post-treatment DCE-MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Meningeal lesions can be caused by various conditions and pose diagnostic challenges. The authors review the anatomy of the meninges in the brain and spinal cord to provide a better understanding of the localization and extension of these diseases and summarize the clinical and imaging features of various conditions that cause dural and/or leptomeningeal enhancing lesions. These conditions include infectious meningitis (bacterial, tuberculous, viral, and fungal), autoimmune diseases (vasculitis, connective tissue diseases, autoimmune meningoencephalitis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, neuro-Behçet syndrome, Susac syndrome, and sarcoidosis), primary and secondary tumors (meningioma, diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumor, melanocytic tumors, and lymphoma), tumorlike diseases (histiocytosis and immunoglobulin G4-related diseases), medication-induced diseases (immune-related adverse effects and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome), and other conditions (spontaneous intracranial hypotension, amyloidosis, and moyamoya disease).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To summarize previous studies' data and to calculate the diagnostic performance of minimum axial diameter (MIAD) and maximum axial diameter (MAAD) on each of the cutoff values in retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLNs) metastases in head and neck cancer.

Methods: MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases were searched for systematic review. Meta-analysis was performed to summarize estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and generate summary recipient operator characteristic (sROC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study compared the dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) magnetic resonance imaging parameters and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) between pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) and diffuse midline glioma, H3K27-altered (DMG) variants.

Methods: The normalized relative cerebral blood volume (nrCBV), normalized relative flow (nrCBF), percentile signal recovery (PSR), and normalized mean ADC (nADCmean) of 23 patients with midline PAs (median age, 13 years [range, 1-71 years]; 13 female patients) and 40 patients with DMG (8.5 years [1-35 years]; 19 female patients), including 35 patients with H3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the utility of 40-keV virtual monochromatic imaging (VMI) reconstructed from dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in the assessment of neck lymph node metastasis with 70-keV VMI, which is reportedly equivalent to conventional 120-kVp single-energy computed tomography.

Materials And Methods: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who had neck lymph node metastasis in contact with the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) and underwent contrast-enhanced DECT were included. In 40- and 70-keV VMI, contrast differences and contrast noise ratio (CNR) between the solid component of neck lymph node metastasis (SC) and the SCM and between SC and nodal necrosis (NN) were calculated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: To comprehensively summarize the radiological characteristics of sinonasal tract angiofibroma (STA) (commonly known as juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma).

Methods: Forty-four lesions from 41 cases provided by 33 study articles identified through a systematic review and 13 lesions from 13 cases from our institution associated with patients with STA who underwent MRI were included in the review study, carried out by two board-certified experienced radiologists.

Results: The study participants were all male patients with a mean age of 15.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ectopic tissue is an anatomic abnormality in which tissue develops in an area outside its normal location. It is primarily caused by abnormalities during the process of embryologic development. Although the majority of individuals with ectopic tissues remain asymptomatic, various symptoms and associated complications can occur.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypophysitis is an inflammatory disease affecting the pituitary gland. Hypophysitis can be classified into multiple types depending on the mechanisms (primary or secondary), histology (lymphocytic, granulomatous, xanthomatous, plasmacytic/IgG4 related, necrotizing, or mixed), and anatomy (adenohypophysitis, infundibulo-neurohypophysitis, or panhypophysitis). An appropriate diagnosis is vital for managing these potentially life-threatening conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: fopen(/var/lib/php/sessions/ci_sessionu50aa716vp2mctlqfgm5ggqpin7803n4): Failed to open stream: No space left on device

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 177

Backtrace:

File: /var/www/html/index.php
Line: 316
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_start(): Failed to read session data: user (path: /var/lib/php/sessions)

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 137

Backtrace:

File: /var/www/html/index.php
Line: 316
Function: require_once