2D shear wave elastography in evaluation of prognostic factors in breast cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the reproducibility of the 2D shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) method and to identify the prognostic factors of breast lesions.

Methods: In this prospective study, 44 female patients were consecutively included from January 2020 to September 2021. All patients showing visible masses at B-mode ultrasound underwent to clinical evaluation, followed by qualitative and quantitative 2D-SWE by two different operators with over 15-year and 2-year experience, respectively.

Apparent diffusion coefficient values in borderline breast lesions upgraded and not upgraded at definitive histopathological examination after surgical excision.

Purpose: The study aims were to evaluate if the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value could distinguish between breast lesions classified as B3 at core needle biopsy (CNB) that show or do not show atypia or malignancy at definitive histopathological examination (DHE) after surgical excision.

Material And Methods: From January 2013 to December 2017, 141 patients with a B3 breast lesion underwent magnetic resonance imaging and were included in the study. The ADC value was assessed drawing a ROI outlining the entire lesion, evaluating the mean (ADC) and minimum ADC values (ADC).

Apparent diffusion coefficient value in breast papillary lesions without atypia at core needle biopsy.

Purpose: The main aim of the study was to assess if the mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value was significantly different between papillary lesions (PL) without atypia and PLs with atypical or malignant foci. A secondary objective was to evaluate if patients mean age, MRI BI-RADS® descriptors and assessment category were significantly different between these two PL groups.

Methods: In this eight year retrospective study were included 122 patients (mean age, 51 years; range, 24-78) with 122 PLs without atypia at micro-histological examination after core needle biopsy (CNB) performed under sonographic guidance.

Morphological MR features and quantitative ADC evaluation in invasive breast cancer: Correlation with prognostic factors.

Objective: Assess the correlation between MRI characteristics of invasive breast cancer and tumor prognostic features.

Materials And Methods: 95 women with invasive breast cancer underwent pre-treatment MR. Morphological findings and quantitative ADC were retrospectively evaluated.

Cardiovascular phenotype of young adults and angiotensinogen alleles.

Objectives And Design: Angiotensinogen (AGT) gene variants influence angiotensinogen plasma levels in children and young adults. The angiotensinogen promoter (-6)A variant facilitates gene transcription in human tissues and it has been associated with high blood pressure in older adults. A young adult population can be used as a model to study genotype/phenotype associations between AGT (-6) variants and cardiovascular variables.

Tendon involvement in rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist: MRI findings.

Objective: To evaluate the distribution and extent of wrist tendon alterations in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Design And Patients: Forty-three clinically active RA patients with an illness duration of less than 4 years and no clinical evidence of tendons tears were enrolled in the study. There were 10 men and 33 women, with an average age of 52 years (range 33-63 years).

Dynamic MRI of the breast.

Objective: To describe the rationale, the technical requirements and the examination technique of dynamic magnetic resonance studies of the breast and to assess the role of this method in the clinical diagnostic protocol.

Material And Methods: We reviewed the relative literature and compared the results with our personal experience.

Results: The earliest reports on the possibility of differentiating carcinoma from benign tissue with magnetic resonance imaging came from Germany, where in 1986 Heywang and coworkers used T1-weighted spin-echo sequences before and after i.

MRI in characterization of focal liver lesions: comparison of T2 weighting by conventional spin-echo and turbo spin-echo sequences.

Forty-one patients with 61 proved focal liver lesions underwent MRI of the liver at 1.0 T, with the aim of evaluating the usefulness of turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequences in characterizing focal liver lesions, by comparing them with conventional spin-echo (CSE) sequences. Two different TSE protocols were employed.

MR imaging of focal liver lesions: comparison between turbo spin-echo and conventional spin-echo pulse sequences.

The aim of this study was to compare conventional spin-echo (CSE) T2-weighted (T2W) images with turbo spin-echo (TSE) T2W pulse sequences in their ability to detect focal liver lesions. Seventy-eight consecutive patients with focal liver lesions were entered into this study. All patients were imaged using the gradient-echo (GE) sequence with the breath-hold technique for T1-weighted (T1W) images, and CSE and TSE sequences for T2W images.

[Magnetic resonance arthrography in chondral disease of the knee].

The clinical usefulness of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the knee in the depiction of meniscal, ligament and tendon lesions is well known. In contrast, the role MRI plays in the diagnosis of chondromalacia remains debated, the gold standard being arthroscopy. A new technique, i.

MR imaging of hepatic masses: diagnostic significance of wedge-shaped areas of increased signal intensity surrounding the lesion.

Objective: Wedge-shaped areas of increased signal intensity surrounding focal hepatic lesions on T2-weighted images have been described as an occasional finding in patients with hepatic metastases. We reviewed MR images of patients with benign and malignant focal hepatic lesions to determine the prevalence and diagnostic significance of this finding, and in particular to determine if these wedge-shaped areas are characteristic of cancer.

Materials And Methods: One hundred twenty-one patients with focal hepatic lesions (65 patients with metastases, 14 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, and 42 patients with benign conditions) underwent MR imaging of the liver at 1.

[Turbo-Spin-Echo sequences in focal liver diseases].

Turbo Spin-Echo (Turbo SE) pulse sequences represent a new type of fast sequences characterized by a dramatic reduction in acquisition time with similar intrinsic contrast to that of conventional Spin-Echo (SE) pulse sequences. For a preliminary clinical comparison of turbo SE and SE sequences, a consecutive series of 25 patients with focal liver lesions was investigated by means of MRI at 1.0 T.

[Magnetic resonance versus traditional breast imaging in solid nodular diseases of the breast].

We report and compare the results obtained with conventional imaging (mammography and US) and MRI in the study of 46 solid nodular breast lesions verified with histologic, cytologic and/or instrumental follow-up examinations for 12-34 months. The variables we compared were relative to the identification, nature and size of the lesions. MRI, which was performed on the basis of previous mammographic and US findings, detected all the lesions but never modified the diagnosis of conventional imaging methods.

Inadequacy of ultrasonography for monitoring response to treatment of liver metastases.

Purpose: We prospectively evaluated the clinical efficacy of ultrasonography (US) in monitoring the effect of medical treatment in patients with liver metastases, by comparing serial US assessment with serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation and clinical outcome in a group of 41 patients with solid tumors.

Patients And Methods: Both examinations were performed in patients with metastatic liver disease at the start of a new treatment modality and monthly thereafter for 3 months; close monitoring was prolonged beyond the third month in cases in which there was disagreement between the two techniques and the clinical course was not conclusive.

Results: Planned follow-up was completed in 37 cases.

Ultracytochemical localization of particulate guanylate cyclase in rat adrenal gland exposed to stimulation by porcine brain natriuretic peptide.

We studied the cytochemical localization of particulate guanylate cyclase (GC) in rat adrenal gland after stimulation with porcine brain natriuretic peptide (pBNP) by electron microscopy. In the adrenal cortex, GC activity, as demonstrated by the presence of reaction product, was prevalently localized to the zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata, while the zona reticularis showed little GC reaction product. In the adrenal medulla, GC reaction product was present only in adrenalin-containing cells.

Evaluation of the pulmonary artery by cine MRI.

Twenty-four patients whose mediastinal (12 patients) and lung (12 patients) neoplasms were eventually verified were evaluated with cine MRI in addition to conventional methods (plain radiography, CT, MRI, and endoscopy). Using a 1.0 T system and gradient echo (FLASH repetition time 250-350 ms, echo time 12, flip angle 25-60 degrees) multislice pulse sequence, cine MRI was performed combined with cardiac gating.

MR imaging of rheumatoid hand lesions: comparison with conventional radiology in 31 patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing MRI with conventional radiology (CR) findings and by correlating these findings with the clinical and serological profile of the disease. The hands of 31 patients (24 females, 7 males) affected by classical RA were studied using a Magnetom 1.0 T tomograph.

[Cine-MR in the assessment of the cardiovascular structures in extensive mediastinal pathology].

The authors report their experience with cine-MRI in evaluating the infiltration of the main cardiovascular structures by expansive mediastinal masses. Twenty-four patients with proven lung (12 cases) and mediastinal (12 cases) cancers, previously selected with CT, underwent MRI examination of the chest. A superconductive 1.

MR imaging in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is usually made on the basis of clinical and electrophysiologic data. Other tests, however, such as ultrasound and CT, have enabled us to acquire additional information regarding the anatomical definition of the structures inside the carpal tunnel. The superior quality of MRIs soft-tissue definition led us to employ it in cases of median nerve compression at the wrist in order to determine its true diagnostic value.

[Dynamic imaging with magnetic resonance in the diagnosis of breast disease].

MR imaging was employed for the identification and tissue characterization of nodular lesions in the breast. The study had poor outcome, but the clinical introduction of a paramagnetic contrast medium, Gd-DTPA, allowed better results to be obtained. This study was aimed at evaluating the possibilities of Gd-DTPA enhanced MRI in differentiating benign from malignant breast nodules and in staging cancer.

[Magnetic resonance in the tunnel carpal syndrome. Possibilities and perspectives of an etiopathogenetic study].

Thirty-four selected patients were evaluated in order to define MRI capabilities in the preoperative evaluation and characterization of the pathogenetic patterns of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). MRI examinations were performed by means of a superconductive unit (1.0 T, Magnetom): SE T1 (500/17) and T2 (2000/90) axial images of the carpal region were obtained with a round surface coil.

[Psychologic reactions of patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging. Preliminary study].

MR imaging, like other imaging techniques, can cause emotional and psychological reactions in the patients. Although reversible, these reactions sometimes lead the patient to absolutely refuse the examination or to make it impossible to carry it through. To investigate the patients' emotional distress, a study group of 28 subjects was examined.

[Magnetic resonance of the rheumatoid hand].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate MRI diagnostic accuracy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to compare MRI and radiological findings and to correlate these findings with the clinical and serological profile of the disease. The hands of 24 patients (20 females, 4 males) affected with typical RA (ARA criteria) were studied using a tomograph Magnetom 1.0 T Siemens.