Gallbladder function and dynamics of bile flow in asymptomatic gallstone disease.

Aim: To investigate the effects of gallbladder stones on motor functions of the gallbladder and the dynamics of bile flow in asymptomatic gallstone disease.

Methods: Quantitative hepatobiliary scintigraphy was performed to detect the parameters of gallbladder motor function [gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF), gallbladder visualization time (GBVT), gallbladder time to peak activity (GBT(max)), gallbladder half emptying time (GBT(1/2)), and transit time of bile to duodenum (TTBD)] in 24 patients with asymptomatic cholelithiasis who were diagnosed incidentally during routine abdominal ultrasonographic examination and 20 healthy subjects with normal gallbladder.

Results: Even though there was no significant difference in the clinical and laboratory parameters between the patient and control groups, all parameters of gallbladder function except TTBD were found to differ significantly between the two groups.

Evaluation of the effects of toluene inhalation on alveolar epithelial permeability by 99mTc-DTPA inhalation scintigraphy in automobile painters.

Background: The main component of paint thinner used in industry is toluene diisocyanate (TDI) which can cause occupational asthma in 5-10% of exposed workers.

Aim: To investigate the effect of TDI on 99mTc clearance rate of alveolar epithelium and on pulmonary function tests (PFT) in automobile painters, and to determine the relationship between 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol lung scintigraphy and serum levels of antioxidant enzymes and metalloproteinases (MMPs) of automobile painters.

Methods: Twenty-eight automobile painters and 13 control subjects were included in the study.

Different findings in Tc-99m MDP bone scintigraphy of patients with sickle cell disease: report of three cases.

Objective: Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder caused by abnormal hemoglobin, the S hemoglobin. Although vaso-occlusive crises can occur virtually in any organ, they are particularly common in the bony skeleton of affected patients. Bone marrow necrosis, bone infarcts, osteomyelitis, and aseptic necrosis are common complications in patients with sickle cell disease.

Detection of alveolar epithelial injury by Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scan in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disorder primarily involving the joints. Lung alterations in RA may be primary or secondary to pharmacological treatments and may involve the alveoli, interstitium, airways and/or pleura. Technetium-99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Tc-99m DTPA) aerosol inhalation scintigraphy is a sensitive and noninvasive test commonly employed to assess pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability.

Evaluation of the effect of trimetazidine on Tc-99m methoxyisobutyl isonitrile gated scintigraphy in patients with coronary artery ectasia.

Objective: Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is the abnormal dilatation of a segment of the coronary artery to a diameter of at least 1.5 times that of normal adjacent segments. Symptoms are variable, and its prognosis and treatment modalities are unclear.

Lymphoscintigraphic drainage patterns of the auricle in healthy subjects.

Background: In lymphoscintigraphies of the head and neck, multiple injections around a tumor result in variable drainage to multiple nodal basins. We undertook this study in healthy subjects to test whether single injections at specified points in the auricle display single predictable pathways and predict visualization of parotid sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs).

Methods: Twenty-five healthy subjects were classified according to their injection points in the auricle.