Chronic ephedrine administration decreases brown adipose tissue activity in a randomised controlled human trial: implications for obesity.

Aims/hypothesis: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation increases energy expenditure and may have therapeutic potential to combat obesity. The primary activating and adaptive signal for BAT is via β-adrenergic signalling. We previously demonstrated that human BAT is acutely responsive to oral administration of the sympathomimetic, ephedrine.

Comparison of contemporaneous left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) obtained from planar gated cardiac blood pool scans (GCBPS) and Tl-201 gated myocardial perfusion scans (MPS) using a novel solid state dedicated cardiac camera.

Background: There is limited data on the concordance of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) obtained via solid state dedicated cardiac cameras (SSD) and gated cardiac blood pool scans (GCBPS). This study aimed to examine the agreement of LVEF measured during GCBPS and Tl-201 myocardial perfusion scans (MPS) using SSD.

Methods: Seventy six patients were enrolled.

Quantifying the effects of iodine contrast media on standardised uptake values of FDG PET/CT images: an anthropomorphic phantom study.

This study aimed to quantify the amount of change in Standardised Uptake Values (SUVs) of PET/CT images by simulating the set-up as closely as possible to the actual patient scanning. The experiments were conducted using an anthropomorphic phantom, which contained an amount of radioactivity in the form of Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in a primary plastic test tube and one litre saline bags, including the insertion of bony structures and another two test tubes containing different concentrations of iodine contrast media. Standard scanning protocols were employed for the PET/CT image acquisition.

Contributions of subdiaphragmatic activity, attenuation, and diaphragmatic motion to inferior wall artifact in attenuation-corrected Tc-99m myocardial perfusion SPECT.

Background: Subdiaphragmatic activity and diaphragmatic motion both contribute to inferior wall artifacts in technetium 99m myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Methods And Results: We used an anthropomorphic phantom with ventricular wall activity, liver/spleen inserts containing variable Tc-99m activity, and variable vertical (diaphragmatic) motion amplitude. SPECT and transmission scans were obtained on a GE Optima NX camera.

Staff exposure to ionizing radiation in a major trauma centre.

Background: The purpose of the present paper was to determine the safety of staff members with regard to ionizing radiation in a major trauma centre in a 19-month period.

Methods And Results: A group of five doctors, five nurses and a trauma orderly wore personal radiation monitors under lead aprons while at work. The highest individual cumulative result after 586 days was 0.

Effect of mechanically simulated diaphragmatic respiratory motion on myocardial SPECT processed with and without attenuation correction.

Unlabelled: The goal of this study was to assess the effect of diaphragmatic respiratory motion on inferior wall cold artifact in myocardial SPECT and to assess the ability of attenuation correction (AC) to correct for this artifact in the presence of diaphragmatic motion.

Methods: We used an anthropomorphic phantom with ventricular wall activity, variable ventricular caudal tilt, attenuating liver and spleen cold inserts, and variable vertical (diaphragmatic) motion amplitude and pattern. Cardiac SPECT images were acquired on a gamma camera with dual scanning transmission line sources and commercially available AC software (with scatter correction and iterative reconstruction).