Symptoms that are associated with decreased pancreatic enzyme flow: MRCP assessment.

Background: Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency is one of the causes of malabsorption syndrome. In many cases of malabsorption syndrome, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency can be treated with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Therefore, it is important to detect pancreatic endocrine insufficiency as early and accurately as possible.

Kinematic Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Thorax Using 2-Dimensional Balanced Subsecond Steady-state Free Precession Sequence During Forced Breathing in Comparison With Spirometry.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to investigate the feasibility of kinematic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during forced breathing for the assessment of thoracic and diaphragmatic movement and to compare the results of MRI and spirometry to determine the MRI parameters that are predominantly associated with pulmonary function.

Materials And Methods: Forty-nine healthy volunteers who underwent kinematic MRI using 2-dimensional balanced subsecond steady-state free precession sequence during forced breathing were included. Several items on the MRI were measured and calculated: these were anteroposterior diameter (APD) of the thorax, APD1, ΔAPD, and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the lung field.

Differentiation of subtypes of renal cell carcinoma: dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging versus diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: The objective was to compare the performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the differentiation of subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials/methods: This study included 45 renal tumors of clear cell (n=36) and non-clear-cell (n=9) RCC. The contrast enhancement ratios (CERs) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values on MR imaging were compared between the clear cell and non-clear-cell RCC groups.

Postprandial changes in secretory flow of pancreatic juice in the main pancreatic duct: evaluation with cine-dynamic MRCP with a spatially selective inversion-recovery (IR) pulse.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of oral ingestion on the secretory flow dynamics of physiological pancreatic juice within the main pancreatic duct in healthy subjects by using cine-dynamic MRCP with spatially-selective inversion-recovery (IR) pulse non-invasively.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-eight healthy subjects were investigated. MRCP with spatially-selective IR pulse was repeated every 15 s for 5 min to acquire a total of 20 images (cine-dynamic MRCP).

Noninvasive investigation of exocrine pancreatic function: Feasibility of cine dynamic MRCP with a spatially selective inversion-recovery pulse.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of noncontrast-enhanced cine dynamic magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) with a spatially selective inversion-recovery (IR) pulse for evaluating exocrine pancreatic function in comparison with the N-benzoyl-L-tyrosyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (BT-PABA) test as a pancreatic exocrine function test.

Materials And Methods: Twenty subjects with or without chronic pancreatitis were included. MRCP with a spatially selective IR pulse was repeated every 15 seconds for 5 minutes to acquire a total of 20 images (cine-dynamic MRCP).

Assessment of physiologic bile flow in the extrahepatic bile duct with cine-dynamic MR cholangiopancreatography and a spatially selective inversion-recovery pulse.

Purpose: To determine the feasibility of directly and noninvasively visualizing physiologic bile flow in the extrahepatic bile duct by means of nonpharmacologic cine-dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiopancreatography with a spatially selective inversion-recovery (IR) pulse and assess the flow dynamic pattern of bile in the extrahepatic bile duct.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this retrospective study and waived the need for informed consent. Thirty-five patients without known pancreatobiliary diseases and 11 patients with dilatation of the extrahepatic bile duct were included.

Age-related change in renal corticomedullary differentiation: evaluation with noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) MRI with spatially selective inversion pulse using variable inversion time.

Purpose: To evaluate age-related change in renal corticomedullary differentiation and renal cortical thickness by means of noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with spatially selective inversion recovery (IR) pulse.

Materials And Methods: The Institutional Review Board of our hospital approved this retrospective study and patient informed consent was waived. This study included 48 patients without renal diseases who underwent noncontrast-enhanced SSFP MRI with spatially selective IR pulse using variable inversion times (TIs) (700-1500 msec).

Newly developed hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma during follow-up periods in patients with chronic liver disease: observation in serial gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the process and frequency of newly developed hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in serial gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI examinations in patients with chronic liver disease during clinical follow-up periods.

Materials And Methods: After review of 341 MRI examinations in 100 patients with chronic liver diseases who underwent gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI at least twice during the observation period, 32 newly developed hypervascular HCCs in 14 patients were retrospectively evaluated. Serial MRI examinations before detecting hypervascular HCC were evaluated to determine whether hypervascular HCC showed the presence of a hypointense nodule on the hepatobiliary phase and hypovascularity (high-risk nodule) before hyper-vascularization.

Tissue gadolinium deposition in renally impaired rats exposed to different gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents: evaluation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Objectives: To quantify tissue gadolinium (Gd) deposition in renally impaired rats exposed to Gd-EOB-DTPA and other Gd-based MRI contrast agents by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and to compare the differences in distribution among major organs as possible triggers for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

Methods: A total of 15 renally impaired rats were injected with Gd-EOB-DTPA, Gd-DTPA-BMA and Gd-HP-DO3A. Gd contents of skin, liver, kidney, lung, heart, spleen, diaphragm and femoral muscle were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Corticomedullary differentiation of the kidney: evaluation with noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) MRI with time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (time-SLIP).

Purpose: To assess whether noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (Time-SLIP) can improve the visibility of corticomedullary differentiation of the normal kidney.

Materials And Methods: A series of noncontrast-enhanced SSFP MRI with Time-SLIP were performed in 20 patients by using various inversion times (TIs); 500-1800 msec in increments of 100 msec. In-phase (IP) and opposed-phase (OP) MR images were also obtained.

Hypointense hepatocellular nodules on hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI: can increasing the flip angle improve conspicuity of lesions?

Purpose: To compare the conspicuity of hypointense hepatocellular nodules in patients with chronic liver disease on hepatobiliary phase (HP) of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquired with low to high flip angles (FAs).

Materials And Methods: A total of 95 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI were included. HP images were obtained at 20 minutes, with 15°, 20°, and 30° FAs.

Potential clinical factors affecting hepatobiliary enhancement at Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging.

Objective: The objective was to clarify the clinical factors that might affect the degree of hepatic parenchymal enhancement at gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Materials And Methods: A total of 84 patients with (n=63) and without chronic liver disease (n=21) underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. Contrast-enhanced MR images of hepatobiliary phase (HP) were obtained at 20 min after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration.

Serial 3-dimensional volumetric computed tomography evaluation of lung cancer growth rate in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease findings.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to compare volume doubling time (VDT) of lung cancer with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) findings with that without COPD findings using serial 3-dimensional (3D) volumetric computed tomography (CT) and to investigate the association between VDT and COPD findings.

Methods: This study included 45 patients with surgically diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer with serial preoperative follow-up CT. Volume doubling time of the nodule was calculated by using 3D volumetric computer software.

Hepatic parenchymal enhancement at Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging: correlation with morphological grading of severity in cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis.

The aim was to clarify whether enhancement effects of the liver parenchyma in the hepatobiliary phase (HP) of gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MR imaging were correlated with the morphological grading of the severity in cirrhosis. A total of 62 patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. Relative enhancement (RE) of liver parenchyma was calculated from signal intensity (SI) measurements obtained at precontrast images (SIpre) and 20-min postcontrast HP images (SIpost) as: (SIpost-SIpre)/SIpre.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen to predict clinical prognosis in patients with hypovolemic shock.

Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) findings in predicting the clinical prognosis of patients with hypovolemic shock.

Materials And Methods: This study included 33 patients with hypovolemic shock who underwent DCE-CT of the abdomen due to trauma. The CT attenuation values of several abdominal organs (spleen, liver, pancreas, kidneys [cortex and medulla], adrenal gland) in patients with hypovolemic shock were measured in the early phase and delayed phase to compare the differences in contrast enhancement effects between the survival group and the deceased group.

Age-related changes in normal adult pancreas: MR imaging evaluation.

Objective: To investigate age-related changes in normal adult pancreas as identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: We examined 115 patients without pancreatic diseases (21-90 years) who underwent upper abdominal MRI to evaluate the normal pancreatic MRI findings related to aging. The parameters examined were the pancreatic anteroposterior (AP) diameter, pancreatic lobulation, pancreatic signal intensity (SI), depiction of the main pancreatic duct (MPD), grade of the visual SI decrease on the opposed-phase T1-weighted images compared with in-phase images, and enhancement effect of the pancreas in the arterial phase of dynamic imaging.

Observation of intravascular changes of superabsorbent polymer microsphere (SAP-MS) with monochromatic X-ray imaging.

This study was designed to evaluate the intravascular transformation behavior of superabsorbent polymer microsphere (SAP-MS) in vivo macroscopically by using monochromatic X-ray imaging and to quantitatively compare the expansion rate of SAP-MS among different kinds of mixtures. Fifteen rabbits were used for our study and transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed for their auricular arteries using monochromatic X-ray imaging. We used three kinds of SAP-MS (particle diameter 100-150 mum) mixture as embolic spherical particles: SAP-MS(H) absorbed with sodium meglumine ioxaglate (Hexabrix 320), SAP-MS(V) absorbed with isosmolar contrast medium (Visipaque 270), and SAP-MS(S) absorbed with 0.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of abdominal solid organ and major vessel: comparison of enhancement effect between Gd-EOB-DTPA and Gd-DTPA.

Purpose: To evaluate the differences in enhancement of the abdominal solid organ and the major vessel on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) obtained with gadolinium ethoxybenzyldiethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA: EOB) and gadolinium diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in the same patients.

Materials And Methods: A total of 13 healthy volunteers underwent repeat assessments of abdominal MR examinations with DCE-MRI using either Gd-DTPA at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg body weight or EOB at a dose of 0.

Apparent diffusion coefficient values in peripheral and transition zones of the prostate: comparison between normal and malignant prostatic tissues and correlation with histologic grade.

Purpose: To investigate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for discriminating tumor in patients with prostate cancer from normal prostatic tissues in healthy adult men, and to identify correlations between ADC and histologic grade of prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: A total of 125 healthy male volunteers (mean age, 60 years; range, 50-86 years) and 90 prostate cancer patients (mean age, 71 years; range, 51-88 years) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the prostate with a single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence using b-factors of 0 and 800 sec/mm2. ADC was measured from two locations in the peripheral zone (PZ) and two locations in the central gland (CG) in normal subjects, and tumor locations of PZ or transition zone (TZ) in patients with prostate cancer.