Feasibility and Reliability of Functional Mobility Measures in Children With Cri du Chat (5P-) Syndrome.

Purpose: To investigate feasibility and reliability of functional mobility measures in children with Cri du Chat syndrome (CdCS).

Methods: Nine children with CdCS and 9 children with typical development (TD) completed the Timed Up and Go, 5 times sit-to-stand test, Timed Floor to Stand, and 4 Square Step Test. Feasibility was determined using testing time and need for modifications.

Discordance between labelled white blood cell scintigraphy and bone scan following suspicion of bone infection: what should be done about it?

Background: Bone infection is a common issue in infectiology. The gold standard for evaluating bone infection is the white blood cell (WBC) scan. In our practice the WBC scan is coupled with a bone scan.

Motor activation in multiple system atrophy and Parkinson disease: a PET study.

Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an atypical parkinsonian syndrome including cerebellar impairment and poor response to levodopa. We assessed right hand motor activation in patients with MSA before and after an acute levodopa challenge in comparison with patients with PD and healthy volunteers (HVs).

Methods: Eighteen patients with MSA, 8 patients with PD, and 10 age-matched HVs were included.

Sensory alien hand syndrome in corticobasal degeneration: a cerebral blood flow study.

The presence of alien hand syndrome (AHS) is suggestive of the diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration when it develops in a progressive way. Sensory AHS (sAHS) should be distinguished from the motor form described more commonly. The physiopathology of sAHS remains unclear.

Evaluation of O-(2-[18F]-Fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine in the Diagnosis of Glioblastoma.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of synthesis of O-(2-[(18)F]-fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine (FET), a new positron emission tomographic (PET) tracer described in several studies but not yet considered standard in management of glioma, in routine practice and to determine FET uptake in a homogeneous group of patients with suspected high-grade glioma.

Design: Prospective nonrandomized trial.

Patients: Twelve patients with suspicion of high-grade glioma.

Cerebral hemodynamic changes in severe head injury patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy.

Objective: To assess the intracranial hemodynamic modifications induced by a decompressive craniectomy (DC) after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography and intracranial pressure (ICP) sensor. Mortality rate and neurological outcomes were also evaluated after this procedure.

Design: A prospective study was carried out on 26 TBI patients, measuring transcranial Doppler and ICP before, immediately after, and 48 hours after the DC, allowing for statistical analysis of hemodynamic changes.

Iterative three-dimensional expectation maximization restoration of single photon emission computed tomography images: application in striatal imaging.

Single photon emission computed tomography imaging suffers from poor spatial resolution and high statistical noise. Consequently, the contrast of small structures is reduced, the visual detection of defects is limited and precise quantification is difficult. To improve the contrast, it is possible to include the spatially variant point spread function of the detection system into the iterative reconstruction algorithm.

A SPECT study of wandering behavior in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Among behavior disturbance during Alzheimer's disease (AD), wandering is one of the most common. Different psychological processes have been suggested to explain the wandering behavior. The aim of this study was to examine whether wandering during AD was associated with cerebral perfusion patterns measured by (99 m)Tc-labeled bicisate (ECD) brain SPECT.

Effectiveness of lymphoscintigraphic sentinel node detection for cervical staging of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and staging ability of the sentinel node (SN) technique for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity or oropharynx and clinically negative necks. This prospective study compares the histopathologic status of the SN with that of the remaining neck dissection tissues.

Patients And Methods: Thirty previously untreated patients with T1 to T4 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity or oropharynx and clinically negative necks (N0) were included in the study.

Multimodal image registration for localization of sentinel nodes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The aim of this clinical study was to propose a new method of preoperative 3-dimensional localization of the neck sentinel node in clinically and radiographically N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study was carried out between August 2002 and August 2003. Ten patients with staged oral squamous cell cancer underwent this method of preoperative localization of the sentinel lymph node.

Confirmation by spiral CT of a partially occlusive thrombus of the right pulmonary artery suggested by a V/Q lung scan.

Findings on perfusion and ventilation imaging in a 24-year-old woman with anterior chest pain were consistent with pulmonary embolism involving the right lung. An astute physician raised the possibility of a thrombus occluding the right pulmonary artery, and subsequent spiral computed tomography confirmed the suspicion of an occluding thrombus at that site. Had spiral computed tomography been done first, the diagnosis would have been made much more rapidly.

Quantification of dopamine transporter by 123I-PE2I SPECT and the noninvasive Logan graphical method in Parkinson's disease.

Unlabelled: (E)-N-(3-iodoprop-2-enyl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4'-methyl-phenyl) nortropane (PE2I), a cocaine analog, is a new, highly specific tracer for imaging dopamine transporter labeled with (123)I for in vivo SPECT. Its reversible binding on dopamine transporter and its rapid kinetics allow quantification of its binding potential according to a 3-compartment model. For quantification of distribution volume of reversible tracer, Logan developed a noninvasive and graphical method that allows accurate estimation of binding potential.

Synthesis and biodistribution of new oxo and nitrido 99mTc complexes with asymmetrical potentially dianionic or trianionic tetradentate SNNO ligands derived from methyl-2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid.

In this work, 10 new asymmetrical tetradentate SNNO ligands were prepared by reaction of the amine function of methyl 2-[(beta-aminoethyl)amino]cyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylate with various bifunctional substituents bearing hydroxyl/ketone and hydroxyl/aldehyde functional groups and with diethyl oxalate. 99mTc labeling efficiency was optimized by adjusting temperature and pH conditions. Seven nitrido and two oxo 99mTc complexes were isolated.

[Characterization of the response of hexagonal parallel-hole collimators of scintillation cameras].

This paper presents a formulation of the frequency response of hexagonal parallel-hole collimator scintillation cameras. To describe this response, we propose an equation determined semi-empirically from a great number of simulations. The utility of the equation is that it enables the simple calculation of the response from collimator characteristics by taking into account the collimator's hexagonal structure.

Technetium labeling of bi, tri and tetradentate ligands derived from 2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid: characterization and biodistribution of their oxo and nitrido 99mtechnetium complexes.

We have synthesized and characterized seven ligands derived from 2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid with different donor sets (SN2-, SNO2-, SNN2-, SNNO3- and SNNN3-) and different substituents on the sulfur moieties-SR (with R = H, CH3 or C2H5O(CH3)CH). With five of these ligands technetium nitrido complexes have been obtained with high yields (over 95%) using rather harsh conditions (pH = 1, temperature > or = 80 degrees C), whereas for technetium oxo complexes similar high yields were only obtained with two ligands but with mild conditions (pH = 7-8, temperature approximately equal to 50 degrees C). Changing an OH group for an NH2 has a drastic effect upon labeling yields.

Imaging of hyperparathyroidism: US, CT, MRI and MIBI scintigraphy.

Hyperparathyroidism is a rare condition although recently the incidence has increased, particularly the asymptomatic form, as a result of routine serum calcium measurements. A definitive diagnosis can be made using modern bio-assays giving direct measurements of parathormone (PTH). Various methods are currently available for pre-operative localisation of pathological parathyroid glands.

Feasibility of first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography with a 10-mCi technetium bolus using a single-crystal digital gamma camera: implications for technetium-sestamibi single-day protocols.

To test the feasibility of rest first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography (FPRNA) using a 370-MBq (10-mCi) bolus and a single-crystal gamma camera, 40 patients underwent both FPRNA and equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography (ERNA). Ejection fraction (EF) and regional wall motion (RWM) were assessed by three observers. The interobserver reproducibility was good: the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.

Normalization of stress and delayed thallium-201 myocardial SPECT: where is the normal reference area?

We describe an unusual uptake pattern in a thallium SPECT study performed after dipyridamole infusion in a patient with a documented history of prior inferior infarction and recent typical chest pain. The stress study exhibited maximum uptake in the inferior wall. The delayed study showed an inferior defect more consistent with the notion of inferior necrosis, with a maximum uptake in the anterior wall.

[A simulation method for studying scintillation camera collimators].

This paper presents a computer simulation of photon interaction with collimator septa, which allows the point spread function of scintillation camera collimators to be calculated. The method simulates photon attenuation along their propagation direction in a determinist way. Using this simulation, the spatial resolution, geometric efficiency and penetration index of collimators may be easily assessed.

Acupuncture meridians and radiotracers.

Acupuncture is frequently used and in particular for the treatment of pain. One of the cornerstones of its use, at least in Western countries, is the concept of the acupuncture meridian. Yet, their existence has never actually been proven.

Correlations between M-mode markers of left ventricular hypertrophy and radionuclide angiographic indices of left ventricular diastolic function in mild to moderate hypertension.

This study was undertaken to determine the correlations between left ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular diastolic function in mild to moderate essential hypertension. M-mode echocardiography and rest equilibrium radionuclide angiography were performed in 53 hypertensive subjects. The following M-mode echocardiographic parameters were measured: interventricular septal thickness, posterior wall thickness, left ventricular mass index, left atrial diameter and relative wall thickness.

Atrial natriuretic peptide, plasma renin activity, plasma volume, systemic vascular resistance and cardiac output in patients with cirrhosis.

The present study aimed to assess relationships between plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and plasma volume, systemic vascular resistances, cardiac output and plasma renin activity in patients with cirrhosis. Thirty patients were included: eight with no history of liver disease were used as controls; 22 patients had biopsy-proven alcoholic cirrhosis without ascites (n = 11) and with ascites (n = 11). Mean ANP plasma level was significantly higher in both groups of cirrhotic patients than in controls (P less than 0.