Learning through partnership with communities: A transformational journey.

The purpose of this article, co-authored by instructors and students, is to highlight student learning and a student-developed model of Community Development that occurred through a service-based clinical placement. As part of their clinical community practicum, a group of second year nursing students were partnered with a group of seniors living in an inner city community. By deconstructing and categorizing ongoing student involvement with this community, students were able to make linkages to the many concepts that together form a community development approach to care, leading to the creation of a model of community development (the Community Health Advancement Model) to guide their evaluation.

Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT Features of Carcinoid Heart Disease.

We present the case of a 35-year-old woman with metastatic neuroendocrine tumor undergoing treatment with long-acting octreotide and Lu-DOTATATE therapy. We present features of carcinoid heart disease on Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT, which revealed dilated right atrium, pericardial effusion, ascites, and congestive hepatopathy apart from the metastatic lesions in the liver. The scan cardiac findings were confirmed by echocardiography.

Unilateral Brown Fat Suppression on FDG PET/CT-detecting Sympathetic Denervation.

We present here a case of primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) who initially presented with involvement of the right 3 rib and underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, rib excision, and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy and later underwent posterolateral thoracotomy, pleural nodule excision, and the right 11 rib metastatic lesion excision. Follow-up F-FDG PET/CT/computed tomography revealed unilateral brown fat suppression in the form of decreased metabolic uptake in the ipsilateral cervical, axillary, and paravertebral brown fat as compared to metabolically active contralateral brown fat, likely due to paravertebral sympathetic chain damage.

Role of Early Dynamic Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography with 68Ga-prostate-specific Membrane Antigen-HBED-CC in Patients with Adenocarcinoma Prostate: Initial Results.

Rationale: Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) is widely used for imaging of prostate cancer (PC) nowadays. However, appearance of bladder activity many a times hampers lesion detection vis-a-vis primary as well as regional nodes. We aimed to assess if early dynamic PET/CT can be a potential solution to this issue.

68Ga-Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET/CT in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a transmembrane protein with elevated expression in prostate cancer cells. Breast cancer also shows PSMA expression. We present the case of a 30-year-old woman with triple-negative bilateral breast carcinoma who underwent bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Expression in Adrenocortical Carcinoma on 68Ga-Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET/CT.

We present here a case of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma with bilateral lung nodules. The patient had been treated with mitotane therapy initially and then was later referred for chemotherapy. There was progression of disease noted on the F-FDG PET/CT.

Occupational exposure to asphalt fume can cause oxidative DNA damage among road paving workers.

Objectives: We designed the present study to determine the effect of occupational exposure to asphalt fumes on oxidative status and DNA damage in road paving workers.

Methods: Sixty road paving workers exposed to asphalt fumes and forty non-exposed control subjects were recruited. Occupational exposure to PAHs was assessed by urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) excretion.

Neuroimaging in Parkinsonian Disorders.

Neuroimaging (NI) in Parkinson's disease (PD) includes functional techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and morphological imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transcranial sonography to probe different aspects of the neurobiology of PD. Changes in neurotransmitters in various regions of the brain and their influence on brain networks is the basis for the motor symptoms of PD which are interrogated by NI. The recent Movement Disorders Society Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for PD (MDS-PD) have included the results of a few of these neuroimaging techniques to serve as single supportive criteria or absolute exclusion criteria for the diagnosis of PD.

Recurrent Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma on 68Ga-Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET/CT: Exploring New Theranostic Avenues.

The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly expressed in prostate cancer cells. Few other malignancies have shown expression of PSMA. We present a case of 35-year-old man with medullary thyroid carcinoma, post total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection, now presenting with rising calcitonin levels (doubling time 9 months) and local neck recurrence with negative I-MIBG scan.

68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT in Medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma, also known as cerebellar primitive neuroectodermal tumor, is the most common brain tumor in children and arises in the posterior cranial fossa. We present the case of a patient with desmoplastic type of medulloblastoma, which showed recurrence more than once. When Ga-DOTANOC PET-CT was done, the lesions showed somatostatin receptor expression, opening another potential therapeutic option for this patient.

Adenocarcinoma Prostate With Neuroendocrine Differentiation: Potential Utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT Over 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT.

Ga-PSMA PET/CT is the upcoming imaging modality for staging, restaging and response assessment of prostate cancer. However, due to neuroendocrine differentiation in some of patients with prostate cancer, they express somatostatin receptors instead of prostate specific membrane antigen. This can be exploited and other modalities like Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT and F-FDG PET/CT should be used in such cases for guiding management.

A Rare Case of Synchronous Papillary Microcarcinoma and Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumor of Unknown Primary.

Thyroid papillary microcarcinomas (PMCs) usually follow a very benign clinical course and are rarely metastatic. Any case of PMC presenting with distant metastases without any rising thyroglobulin level should be suspected to have any other primary apart from the thyroid and a meticulous clinical and diagnostic approach should be considered to identify the second primary. We hereby present a case of 52-year-old female treated as PMC with metastatic liver lesion, which was initially thought to be of thyroidal origin.

Does surgery help in reducing stigma associated with drug refractory epilepsy in children?

Introduction: Epilepsy has several comorbidities and associated stigma. Stigma associated with epilepsy is well known and prevalent worldwide. Surgical treatment is an established treatment for drug refractory epilepsy.

The Transcondylar Approach to Access Symptomatic Arachnoid Cysts of the Hypoglossal Canal.

Background And Importance: A direct transcondylar approach to treat symptomatic arachnoid cysts of the hypoglossal canal has not yet been described in the literature.

Clinical Presentation: Here, we present a skull base approach in 2 female patients (68 and 38 yr) with progressive dysphagia, dysarthria, half-sided weakness, and atrophy of the tongue due to an arachnoid cyst of the hypoglossal canal. After patient informed consent, both patients were successfully operated on without complications using a transcondylar approach, and their symptoms improved 3 mo after surgery; in both patients, resection of the cyst was confirmed using magnetic resonance imaging.

Progression of Chronic Pancreatitis to Pancreatic Cancer: Is There a Role of Gene Mutations as a Screening Tool?

Objectives: Early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma still remains a challenge. Patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) have a markedly increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Mutations in oncogenes and/or tumor suppressor genes play a role in development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Peptide Receptor Radionuclide and Octreotide: A Novel Approach for Metastatic Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia.

Key Messages: Octreotide can be used as an adjunctive therapy to increase phosphorus levels in patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia. Malignant phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT) may benefit from treatment with peptide receptor radionucleotide therapy.

Context: The success of treatment modalities for malignant PMT is limited.

Metabolic topography of autoimmune non-paraneoplastic encephalitis.

Purpose: F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is emerging to be a useful tool in supporting the diagnosis of AIE. In this study, we describe the metabolic patterns on F-18 FDG PET imaging in AIE.

Methods: Twenty-four antibody-positive patients (anti-NMDA-15, anti-VGKC/LGI1-6, and anti-GAD-3), 14 females and 10 males, with an age range of 2-83 years were included in this study.

Development of a Simple Image Processing Application that Makes Abdominopelvic Tumor Visible on Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Image.

Introduction: In this study, we have developed a simple image processing application in MATLAB that uses suprathreshold stochastic resonance (SSR) and helps the user to visualize abdominopelvic tumor on the exported prediuretic positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images.

Methods: A brainstorming session was conducted for requirement analysis for the program. It was decided that program should load the screen captured PET/CT images and then produces output images in a window with a slider control that should enable the user to view the best image that visualizes the tumor, if present.

F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Tuberculosis: Spectrum of Manifestations.

The objective of this article is to provide an illustrative tutorial highlighting the utility of F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT) imaging to detect spectrum of manifestations in patients with tuberculosis (TB). FDG-PET/CT is a powerful tool for early diagnosis, measuring the extent of disease (staging), and consequently for evaluation of response to therapy in patients with TB.

Investigating the Role of Global Histogram Equalization Technique for Technetium-Methylene diphosphonate Bone Scan Image Enhancement.

Purpose Of The Study: Technetium-methylene diphosphonate (Tc-MDP) bone scan images have limited number of counts per pixel, and hence, they have inferior image quality compared to X-rays. Theoretically, global histogram equalization (GHE) technique can improve the contrast of a given image though practical benefits of doing so have only limited acceptance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of GHE technique for Tc-MDP-bone scan images.

Calculating Gamma Camera Uniformity Parameters: Beyond the Vendor-specific Protocol.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and verify a personal computer-based software tool for calculating uniformity indices of gamma camera.

Materials And Methods: The program was developed in MATLAB R2013b under Microsoft Windows operating system. Noise-less digital phantoms with known uniformity parameters were used to verify the accuracy of the program.

New Oxidative Stress Markers Useful in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in Children: Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis and the Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Level.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate 2 new oxidative stress markers, thiol/disulfide homeostasis status and the asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) level, in children with acute appendicitis (AA) and to evaluate their diagnostic utility.

Methods: This case-control study included 45 patients with AA and 35 healthy children. Age, sex, white blood cell count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, ultrasonographic findings, thiol/disulfide homeostasis parameters (native and total thiol levels, native thiol/total thiol ratios [antioxidant parameters], and disulfide, disulfide/native thiol, and disulfide/total thiol ratios [oxidant parameters]), and the ADMA level were compared between the 2 groups.