Bubble nasal CPAP, early surfactant treatment, and rapid extubation are associated with decreased incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very-low-birth-weight newborns: efficacy and safety considerations.

Background: Current literature has been inconsistent in demonstrating that minimizing the duration of mechanical ventilation in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) newborns reduces lung damage.

Objective: To determine if introduction of bubble nasal CPAP (bnCPAP), early surfactant treatment, and rapid extubation (combined bnCPAP strategy) in our community-based neonatal ICU reduced bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Methods: This was a 7-year retrospective,single-institution review of respiratory outcomes in 633 VLBW babies before and after introduction of the combined bnCPAP strategy.

Evaluation of the endothelial function in hypertensive patients with 13N-ammonia PET.

Background: Essential hypertension is one of the main risk factors for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Hypertension causes endothelial dysfunction which is considered an early sign for the development of CAD. Positron emission tomography is a non-invasive imaging technique that measures myocardial blood flow (MBF), allowing us to identify patients with endothelial dysfunction.

Automatic alignment of myocardial perfusion PET and 64-slice coronary CT angiography on hybrid PET/CT.

Background: Hybrid PET/CT allows for acquisition of cardiac PET and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in one session. However, PET and CCTA are acquired with differing breathing protocols and require software registration. We aimed to validate automatic correction for breathing misalignment between PET and CCTA acquired on hybrid scanner.

Comparison of clinical tools for measurements of regional stress and rest myocardial blood flow assessed with 13N-ammonia PET/CT.

Unlabelled: Several models for the quantitative analysis of myocardial blood flow (MBF) at stress and rest and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) with (13)N-ammonia myocardial perfusion PET have been implemented for clinical use. We aimed to compare quantitative results obtained from 3 software tools (QPET, syngo MBF, and PMOD), which perform PET MBF quantification with either a 2-compartment model (QPET and syngo MBF) or a 1-compartment model (PMOD).

Methods: We considered 33 adenosine stress and rest (13)N-ammonia studies (22 men and 11 women).

[The importance of multi-imaging diagnosis in cardiology].

Cardiovascular imaging is one of the disciplines in cardiology with the most recent advances. This means that the teaching of Cardiology must evolve in the same way. In 2009, the American College of Cardiology published a statement, which points out that all of the cardiology residents must have basic training in every one of the cardiovascular imaging modalities available.

Functional impact of coronary stenosis observed on coronary computed tomography angiography: Comparison with ¹³N-ammonia PET.

Background And Aims: We undertook this study to evaluate the functional impact of coronary abnormalities in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) by means of integrated positron emission tomography (PET) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) scan obtained on a hybrid state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner.

Methods: We studied 29 consecutive, patients with a clinically suspected intermediate risk for CAD, using a hybrid PET/CT 64 slice scanner. During a single scanning session, CCTA was performed for coronary anatomy evaluation, and a rest/adenosine stress (13)N-ammonia PET was performed for myocardial perfusion assessment in 3D mode with CT attenuation correction.

Endothelial dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus: evaluation with 13N-ammonia PET.

Unlabelled: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) affects multiple organs and systems, severely involving the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of endothelial dysfunction with (13)N-ammonia PET in asymptomatic SLE patients.

Methods: We enrolled 16 women with SLE and 16 healthy women.

Interaction of an artificial surfactant in human pulmonary epithelial cells.

Surfaxin (lucinactant), a peptide-based surfactant consisting of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) plus KL(4) (sinapultide) (a synthetic peptide modeled after human surfactant protein-B), is effective in treating respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants. Our goal was to determine the uptake and effects of Surfaxin on human pulmonary type II cells isolated from fetal tissue and other lung cell types. Based on previous published reports, we hypothesized that this exogenous synthetic surfactant would have little effect on type II cell surfactant-related physiological features.