Quantitative evaluation of the amount of delayed myocardial enhancement as a predictor of systolic dysfunction.

30 patients with delayed contrast enhancement in patterns suggestive of myocardial infarctions were reviewed. Infarct mass was quantitatively measured using short axis images obtained in the delayed phase of gadopentetate administration. Left ventricular mass and ejection fraction were measured using short axis, steady state free precession images.

Testosterone and growth hormone improve body composition and muscle performance in older men.

Context: Impairments in the pituitary-gonadal axis with aging are associated with loss of muscle mass and function and accumulation of upper body fat.

Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that physiological supplementation with testosterone and GH together improves body composition and muscle performance in older men.

Design, Setting, And Participants: One hundred twenty-two community-dwelling men 70.

Calcific constrictive pericarditis demonstrated on 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy.

The authors present a case of calcific constrictive pericarditis, imaged with bone scintigraphy. The patient presented with three months of shortness of breath, chest pain, and chest tightness during exercise, among other nonspecific symptoms. Although the diagnosis was made based on chest radiography and cardiac MRI, bone scintigraphy was used to corroborate the diagnosis of calcific constrictive pericarditis.

The prevalence of incidental findings at cardiac MRI.

Unlabelled: OBJECT OR PURPOSE OF STUDY: As the field of view of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) includes the thorax and upper abdomen, it is not surprising that these studies can reveal incidental extra-cardiac abnormalities. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of these incidental findings.

Materials, Methods And Procedures: 132 volunteer participants with a mean age of 74.

Atrial fibrillation in Mediterranean spotted fever.

Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne acute febrile disease caused by Rickettsia conorii and characterized by fever, maculo-papular rash and a black eschar at the site of the tick bite ('tache noir'). We describe the case of a 58-year-old man affected by MSF who developed atrial fibrillation. The patient presented himself to the hospital after 7 days of fever, malaise and severe headache.

B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: PET/CT evaluation after 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy--initial experience.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare fusion fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic (PET)/computed tomographic (CT) imaging with CT imaging alone in the evaluation of yttrium 90 ((90)Y)-ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant study was performed with approval from the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board and with informed consent. Five men and five women (mean age, 52 years; range, 38-70 years) with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma underwent FDG PET/CT imaging both 14-27 days before treatment with (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan and 4-6 months after treatment.

Enhancing drug development and drug monitoring: academia, industry and government chart common goals.

A workshop was hosted by the Biomedical Imaging Science Initiative of the University of Southern California in January 2007, entitled "Imaging-based Tools: Role in Drug Development and Drug Monitoring". This workshop brought together leaders from the pharmaceutical and the imaging industries, from academia and from government, who worked together to identify technical, educational, financial and procedural roadblocks that have delayed progress in the pharmacokinetic imaging field. The outcome has been a report that identifies future actions, including the formation of a Multidisciplinary Advisory Council on Noninvasive Imaging Studies.

Localisation of increased prefrontal white matter in pathological liars.

We examined white matter volumes in four prefrontal subregions using structural magnetic resonance imaging in 10 pathological liars, 14 antisocial controls, and 20 normal controls. Liars showed a relatively widespread increase in white matter (23-36%) in orbitofrontal, middle and inferior, but not superior, frontal gyri compared with antisocial and normal controls. This white matter increase may predispose some individuals to pathological lying.

MR in patients with pacemakers and ICDs: Defining the issues.

There has been great controversy related to performance of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators. Recent questions have been raised regarding whether contraindications are absolute or relative. Although there are theoretical as well as documented issues relating to device malfunction, data suggest that scanning patients with devices may be feasible when important clinical questions need to be addressed by following strict guidelines.

Magnetic resonance criteria for future trials of cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Current patient selection criteria for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT), an efficacious treatment for heart failure, include no measure of disconjugate cardiac contractility other than prolonged QRS on electrocardiogram. Using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the roles of cardiac asymmetry, asynchrony, and circumferential strain in DCC with the principal aim of generating a robust numerical index for use in future trials of CRT. Standard cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was done on a GE 1.

Frontal slab composite magnetic resonance neurography of the brachial plexus: implications for infraclavicular block approaches.

Background: Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) is an imaging method by which nerves can be selectively highlighted. Using commercial software, the authors explored a variety of approaches to develop a three-dimensional volume-rendered MRN image of the entire brachial plexus and used it to evaluate the accuracy of infraclavicular block approaches.

Methods: With institutional review board approval, MRN of the brachial plexus was performed in 10 volunteer subjects.

Prefrontal white matter in pathological liars.

Background: Studies have shown increased bilateral activation in the prefrontal cortex when normal individuals lie, but there have been no structural imaging studies of deceitful individuals.

Aims: To assess whether deceitful individuals show structural abnormalities in prefrontal grey and white matter volume.

Method: Prefrontal grey and white matter volumes were assessed using structural magnetic resonance imaging in 12 individuals who pathologically lie, cheat and deceive ('liars'),16 antisocial controls and 21 normal controls.