Retrospective T2 quantification from conventional weighted MRI of the prostate based on deep learning.

Purpose: To develop a deep learning-based method to retrospectively quantify T2 from conventional T1- and T2-weighted images.

Methods: Twenty-five subjects were imaged using a multi-echo spin-echo sequence to estimate reference prostate T2 maps. Conventional T1- and T2-weighted images were acquired as the input images.

A phase 2 clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab and radiotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab-mediated programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition plus radiotherapy (RT) in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who were unselected for programmed death-ligand 1 expression.

Methods: The current study was a single-arm, Simon 2-stage, phase 2 clinical trial that enrolled a total of 17 patients with a median age of 52 years (range, 37-73 years). An RT dose of 3000 centigrays (cGy) was delivered in 5 daily fractions.

Primary hepatic carcinoid tumor presenting as Cushing's syndrome.

Hepatic carcinoid tumors are very uncommon; most are clinically non-functional and very few present with the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome. ACTH-producing carcinoid tumors most commonly originate in the lung or thymus and present insidiously with bronchospasm and/or chest mass. Occasionally, ectopic ACTH syndromes have been reported in association with pancreatic islet cell tumors, medullary thyroid cancer, pheochromocytoma, small-cell lung carcinoma, and rarely, ovarian and prostate tumors.

Aortic root infection in a prosthetic valve demonstrated by gallium-67 citrate SPECT.

A 70-year-old man presented with 6 weeks of worsening low back pain, fever, sweating, and weight loss with known severe lumbosacral osteoarthritis. His history included CABG in 1992, porcine aortic valve replacement, and permanent pacemaker implantation in 2002. CT of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis did not demonstrate a cause for the symptoms.

Whole-body (18)F-FDG PET identifies high-risk myeloma.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of whole-body PET with (18)F-FDG in patients with multiple myeloma and related monoclonal diseases.

Methods: Between July 1, 1996, and July 2000, 98 (18)F-FDG PET scans were obtained for 66 patients, with 25 patients having 2 or more scans. The results were compared with routine clinical and staging information, including CT and MRI scans, as indicated.

Effects of ischemia on sarcoplasmic reticulum and contractile myofilament activity in human myocardium.

The effects of global ischemia on the contractile system and on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) function were studied by measuring the isometric tension and the SR Ca2+ release activity of chemically skinned cardiac fiber preparations from seven patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Ten minutes of ischemia caused 1) a decrease in the myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+ (expected Ca2+ concentration giving half-maximal tension; from 0.69 +/- 0.

Contractile properties and Ca2+ release activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: We performed a comparative study on Ca2+ release activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and calcium sensitivity of contractile apparatus of chemically skinned myocardial fibers obtained from four nonfailing human hearts and 13 excised hearts from patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods And Results: Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile apparatus was studied by following the isometric tension developed by chemically skinned myocardial fibers challenged with solutions of decreasing pCa. Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum was monitored indirectly by measurement of the isometric tension developed by skinned fibers challenged with caffeine.