18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (PET) can be used to assess inflammation non-invasively in Crohn's disease.

Background: Differential therapy requires repeated diagnostic assessment for mapping and monitoring of disease activity in Crohn's disease (CD).

Purpose: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the accuracy of (18)F-fluorodexyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) for non-invasive assessment of disease activity in CD.

Methods: Forty-three patients with CD underwent ileocolonoscopy and hydromagnetic resonance imaging (hydro-MRI) as reference standards.

Laparoscopic anterior semifundoplication in patients with intrathoracic stomach.

The laparoscopic management of the intrathoracic stomach is still controversial. Laparoscopic semifundoplication in gastroesophageal reflux disease results in effective long-term reflux control and is, as compared with 360 degrees Nissen fundoplication, associated with less frequent side effects such as dysphagia and gas bloat syndrome. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results of laparoscopic anterior semifundoplication in patients with intrathoracic stomach.

Docetaxel as salvage therapy in highly pretreated and drug resistant gastrointestinal carcinomas.

Introduction: Despite many efforts to develop new chemotherapies for metastatic upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, overall prognosis continues to be fatal, particularly in gastric and pancreatic cancer. Many of these patients deserve second-or third-line treatment after failure of first-line chemotherapy. Therefore, we analysed toxicity and response rate of weekly docetaxel after failed upfront regimes in these upper GI cancer patients.

[Microstructure of the lung: diffusion measurement of hyperpolarized 3Helium].

Imaging methods to study the lung are traditionally based on x-ray or on radioactive contrast agents. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has only limited applications for lung imaging because of the low tissue density of protons concentration of hydrogen atoms, which are usually the basis for the imaging. The introduction of hyperpolarized noble gases as a contrast agent in MRI has opened new possibilities for lung diagnosis.

[Hyperpolarized (3)helium gas for functional magnetic resonance imaging of the lung].

Lung imaging is traditionally done using X-ray-based methods, since MRI is limited by low proton density as well as inherent magnetic field inhomogeneities of the lung tissue. After introduction of MRI using hyperpolarized noble gases, a totally new field of MRI of the chest has rapidly evolved. These techniques reveal new functional information of the lungs, which could not be obtained before.

Diffusion-weighted MRI of the lung with hyperpolarized helium-3: a study of reproducibility.

Purpose: To determine the reproducibility of several parameters of the ADC measurement by calculating the scan-to-scan intrasubject variability.

Materials And Methods: Measurements were performed using a gradient-echo sequence with a bipolar gradient for diffusion weighting (b=3.89 sec/cm2).

Clinical and immunological efficacy of intradermal vaccine plus lamivudine with or without interleukin-2 in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

To evaluate therapeutic immunostimulation nine chronic hepatitis B patients received six monthly intradermal vaccinations with HBsAg in combination with daily lamivudine. Another five patients received six doses of the vaccine and daily lamivudine together with daily Interleukin-2 (IL-2) s.c.