Cortico-limbic interactions and carotid atherosclerotic burden during chronic stress exposure.

Background And Aims: Chronic stress associates with cardiovascular disease, but mechanisms remain incompletely defined. Advanced imaging was used to identify stress-related neural imaging phenotypes associated with atherosclerosis.

Methods: Twenty-seven individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 45 trauma-exposed controls without PTSD, and 22 healthy controls underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (18F-FDG PET/MRI).

Semi-Automatic Graphical Tool for Measuring Coronary Artery Spatially Weighted Calcium Score from Gated Cardiac Computed Tomography Images.

The current standard for measuring coronary artery calcification to determine the extent of atherosclerosis is by calculating the Agatston score from computed tomography (CT). However, the Agatston score disregards pixel values less than 130 Hounsfield Units (HU) and calcium regions less than 1 mm. Due to this thresholding, the score is not sensitive to small, weakly attenuating regions of calcium deposition and may not detect nascent micro-calcification.

Pharyngeal Inflammation on Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging Before and After Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment.

There is upper airway inflammation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which reduces with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Validate the use of positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify metabolic activity within the pharyngeal mucosa of patients with OSA against nasal lavage proteomics and assess the impact of CPAP therapy. Adults with OSA underwent [18F]-Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose PET/MRI of the neck before and 3 months after initiating CPAP.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy Aggravates T Cell-Driven Plaque Inflammation in Atherosclerosis.

Background: Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that target PD-1 (programmed cell death protein-1) and/or CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4) are commonly associated with acute immune-related adverse events. Accumulating evidence also suggests that ICIs aggravate existing inflammatory diseases.

Scan-rescan measurement repeatability of F-FDG PET/MR imaging of vascular inflammation.

Non-invasive positron emission tomography (PET) of vascular inflammation and atherosclerotic plaque by identifying increased uptake of F-fluordeoxyglucose (F-FDG) is a powerful tool for monitoring disease activity, progression, and its response to therapy. F-FDG PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) of the aorta and carotid arteries has become widely used to assess changes in inflammation in clinical trials. However, the recent advent of hybrid PET/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) scanners has advantages for vascular imaging due to the reduction in radiation exposure and improved soft tissue contrast of MR compared to CT.

Review of radiographic findings in COVID-19.

The purpose of this study is to review the published literature for the range of radiographic findings present in patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 infection. This novel corona virus is currently the cause of a worldwide pandemic. Pulmonary symptoms and signs dominate the clinical picture and radiologists are called upon to evaluate chest radiographs (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) images to assess for infiltrates and to define their extent, distribution and progression.

A Preliminary F-FDG-PET/MRI Study Shows Increased Vascular Inflammation in Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis.

Background: Recent data suggest that patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have increased systemic immune activation and cardiovascular risk. However, unlike psoriasis, evaluation of active vascular inflammation using state-of-the-art imaging is lacking in AD.

Objective: To assess aortic and carotid vascular inflammation using F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (F-FDG-PET/MRI) imaging in moderate-to-severe AD versus healthy individuals.

Imaging plaque inflammation in asymptomatic cocaine addicted individuals with simultaneous positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Chronic cocaine use is associated with stroke, coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, resulting in severe impairments or sudden mortality. In the absence of clear cardiovascular symptoms, individuals with cocaine use disorder (iCUD) seeking addiction treatment receive mostly psychotherapy and psychiatric pharmacotherapy, with no attention to vascular disease (., atherosclerosis).

Reproducibility of thrombus volume quantification in multicenter computed tomography pulmonary angiography studies.

Aim: To evaluate reproducibility of pulmonary embolism (PE) clot volume quantification using computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) in a multicenter setting.

Methods: This study was performed using anonymized data in conformance with HIPAA and IRB Regulations (March 2015-November 2016). Anonymized CTPA data was acquired from 23 scanners from 18 imaging centers using each site's standard PE protocol.

Effect of varying computed tomography acquisition and reconstruction parameters on semi-automated clot volume quantification.

Aim: To examine effects of computed tomography (CT) image acquisition/reconstruction parameters on clot volume quantification for research method validation purposes.

Methods: This study was performed in conformance with HIPAA and IRB Regulations (March 2015-November 2016). A ten blood clot phantom was designed and scanned on a dual-energy CT scanner (SOMATOM Force, Siemens Healthcare GmBH, Erlangen, Germany) with varying pitch, iterative reconstruction, energy level and slice thickness.

Combined PET/DCE-MRI in a Rabbit Model of Atherosclerosis: Integrated Quantification of Plaque Inflammation, Permeability, and Burden During Treatment With a Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase Inhibitor.

Objectives: The authors sought to develop combined positron emission tomography (PET) dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify plaque inflammation, permeability, and burden to evaluate the efficacy of a leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) inhibitor in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis.

Background: Multimodality PET/MRI allows combining the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation, neovascularization, permeability, and burden by combined F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET, DCE-MRI, and morphological MRI. The authors describe a novel, integrated PET-DCE/MRI protocol to noninvasively quantify these parameters in aortic plaques of a rabbit model of atherosclerosis.

Feasibility of imaging superficial palmar arch using micro-ultrasound, 7T and 3T magnetic resonance imaging.

Aim: To demonstrate feasibility of vessel wall imaging of the superficial palmar arch using high frequency micro-ultrasound, 7T and 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Four subjects (ages 22-50 years) were scanned on a micro-ultrasound system with a 45-MHz transducer (Vevo 2100, VisualSonics). Subjects' hands were then imaged on a 3T clinical MR scanner (Siemens Biograph MMR) using an 8-channel special purpose phased array carotid coil.