Role of gadoxetic acid-enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma after locoregional treatment.

Locoregional treatments, as alternatives to surgery, play a key role in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables a multiparametric assessment, going beyond the traditional dynamic computed tomography approach. Moreover, the use of hepatobiliary agents can improve diagnostic accuracy and are becoming important in the diagnosis and follow-up of HCC.

Benign focal liver lesions: The role of magnetic resonance imaging.

Liver lesions are common findings in radiologists' daily routine. They are a complex category of pathology that range from solitary benign lesions to primary liver cancer and liver metastases. Benign focal liver lesions can arise from different liver cell types: Epithelial (hepatocytes and biliary cells) and nonepithelial (mesenchymal cells).

Diagnostic accuracy of coronary computed tomography angiography for the evaluation of obstructive coronary artery disease in patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for the evaluation of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, and CENTRAL were searched for studies reporting accuracy of CCTA for the evaluation of obstructive CAD compared with invasive coronary angiography (ICA) as the reference standard. QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias.

Advanced cardiac imaging in athlete's heart: unravelling the grey zone between physiologic adaptation and pathology.

Over the last decades, interest toward athlete's heart has progressively increased, leading to improve the knowledge on exercise-induced heart modifications. Sport may act as a trigger for life-threatening arrhythmias in patients with structural or electrical abnormalities, hence requiring to improve the diagnostic capability to differentiate physiological from pathological remodeling. Pathological alterations are often subtle at the initial stages; therefore, the challenge is to promptly identify athletes at risk of sudden cardiac death during the pre-participation screening protocols.

Dynamic changes of mitral valve annulus geometry at preprocedural CT: relationship with functional classes of regurgitation.

Background: We investigated mitral valve annular geometry changes during the cardiac cycle in patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) who underwent cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) prior to percutaneous mitral valve replacement or annuloplasty.

Methods: Fifty-one patients with severe MR and high surgical risk (Carpentier classification: 3 type I, 16 type II, 16 type IIIa, 16 type IIIb) underwent multiphase electrocardiographically gated (0-90%) CCTA, using a second generation dual-source CT scanner, as pre-procedural planning. Twenty-one patients without MR served as controls.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance in myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries patients: A review.

The diagnosis of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) necessitates documentation of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), non-obstructive coronary arteries, using invasive coronary angiography or coronary computed tomography angiography and no clinically overt cause for AMI. Historically patients with MINOCA represent a clinical dilemma with subsequent uncertain clinical management. Differential diagnosis is crucial to choose the best therapeutic option for ischemic and non-ischemic MINOCA patients.

Effects of different levels of CT iterative reconstruction on low-contrast detectability and radiation dose in patients of different sizes: an anthropomorphic phantom study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the maintenance of low-contrast detectability at different CT dose reduction levels, in patients of different sizes, as a consequence of the application of iterative reconstruction at different strengths combined with tube current modulation.

Methods: Anthropomorphic abdominal phantoms of two sizes (small and large) were imaged at a fixed noise with iterative algorithm ASIR-V percentages in the range between 0 and 70% and corresponding dose reductions in the range of 0-83%. A total of 1400 images with and without liver low-contrast simulated lesions were evaluated by five radiologists, using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) paradigm and evaluating the area under the ROC curve (AUC).

Characterization of the arterial enhancement pattern of focal liver lesions by multiple arterial phase magnetic resonance imaging: comparison between hepatocellular carcinoma and focal nodular hyperplasia.

Purpose: To evaluate the features of arterial enhancement pattern of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by triple-phase arterial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 52 consecutive patients who underwent triple-phase arterial MRI using hepatocyte-specific contrast agents (Gd-EOB-DTPA) from January 2017 to October 2017, with a MR imaging diagnosis of HCC or FNH. The images were independently assessed by two blinded readers.

Choroidal thickness and the retinal ganglion cell complex in chronic Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy: a prospective study using swept-source optical coherence tomography.

Background/objectives: Choroidal thinning has been suggested in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). No study has been conducted of the choroid in relation to the retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (RGC-IPL). We sought to measure choroidal thickness in chronic LHON and to correlate thickness changes with the RGC-IPL.

Magnetic resonance enterography.

Crohn's disease is a condition of chronic inflammation that may involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract, although it more frequently affects the terminal ileum. Longstanding inflammation may lead to several bowel complications including obstruction, stricture, fistula and abscesses which often necessitate surgery. Cross-sectional imaging methods such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are being utilized more frequently to assess mural and extramural inflammatory bowel disease manifestations.

Optical Coherence Tomography of the Retinal Ganglion Cell Complex in Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy and Dominant Optic Atrophy.

: Mitochondrial optic neuropathies such as Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) and Dominant Optic Atrophy (DOA) have been shown to produce an optic neuropathy secondary to retinal ganglion cell loss with thinning of the retinal ganglion cell complex (RGCC). : We performed a retrospective analysis assessing the thicknesses of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) along with the macular retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (RGC-IPL) using optical coherence tomography (OCT). We compared these changes among acute and chronic LHON, DOA, and normal healthy control patients.

Changes in Choroidal Thickness follow the RNFL Changes in Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is typically characterized by vascular alterations in the acute phase. The aim of this study was to evaluate choroidal changes occurring in asymptomatic, acute and chronic stages of LHON. We enrolled 49 patients with LHON, 19 with Dominant Optic Atrophy (DOA) and 22 healthy controls.

Retinal vessel calibre measurements by optical coherence tomography angiography.

Purpose: To compare the vessel calibre measurements between optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and colour fundus photography.

Methods: In this retrospective comparative study, OCTA and colour fundus images of healthy eyes and eyes with optic atrophy were evaluated. The colour fundus image was registered manually using Image J software to the OCTA image of the optic disc.

Dynamic functionality and static changes of retinal vessels in diabetic patients treated with intravitreal ranibizumab.

Aims: To investigate the short-term effects of intravitreal ranibizumab on retinal vessel functionality in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) by Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (DVA).

Methods: Patients presenting with DME were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation, including optical coherence tomography and dynamic and static vessel analysis, using the DVA before (baseline), 1 week and 1 month after administration of intravitreal ranibizumab.

Assessment of the Real-Life Usage of Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant in the Treatment of Chronic Diabetic Macular Edema in France.

Purpose: Intravitreal steroids, including dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex(®)), are effective for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). However, the dosing regimen for Ozurdex in DME is unclear, and thus, this study was designed to evaluate the dosing regimen for dexamethasone in real-life clinical practice.

Methods: Results are presented from 3 studies based on a questionnaire that was sent out by e-mail to physicians; the monitoring of drugs dispensing over time through pharmacies; and the French Social Security database for 2011 and 2012.

Assessment of Choroidal Topographic Changes by Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography After Intravitreal Ranibizumab for Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate choroidal topographic changes by swept-source optical coherence tomography (Swept-OCT) in patients undergoing intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Prospective interventional study.

Methods: Consecutive patients with unilateral treatment-naïve exudative AMD were entered into the study over 6 months.

Advantage of Applying OSC to (1)H NMR-Based Metabonomic Data of Celiac Disease.

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is a disorder associated with body reaction to gluten. After the gluten intake, an immune reaction against the protein occurs and damages villi of small intestine in celiac patients gradually.

Objectives: The OSC, a filtering method for minimization of inter- and intra-spectrometer variations that influence on data acquisition, was applied to biofluid NMR data of CD patients.