Long-Term Progression-Free Survival of a Pre-Treated Patient with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving Trifluridine/Tipiracil.

Trifluridine/tipiracil is approved for the use in later or last-line setting in previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients who progressed on standard anti-tumor drugs including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, oxaliplatin, anti-VEGF and anti-EGFR antibodies, or who are not considered candidates for those standard therapies. In this report, we describe a 67-year-old male patient with KRAS-mutated mCRC and metachronous liver and lung metastasis who failed prior 5-FU- and irinotecan-containing regimens, but then showed long-term disease control for 31 months on single-agent trifluridine/tipiracil given as second-line treatment. According to our experience, trifluridine/tipiracil is a feasible and effective treatment option in earlier but not necessarily last-line therapy in mCRC patients who are not considered candidates for doublet or triplet chemotherapy.

Significance of an additional unenhanced scan in computed tomography angiography of patients with suspected acute aortic syndrome.

Aim: To assess potential benefits of an additional unenhanced acquisition in computed tomography angiography (CTA) in patients with suspected acute aortic syndrome (AAS).

Methods: A total of 103 aortic CTA (non-electrocardiography-gated, 128 slices) performed due to suspected AAS were retrospectively evaluated for acute aortic dissection (AAD), intramural hematoma (IMH), or penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU). Spiral CTA protocol consisted of an unenhanced acquisition and an arterial phase.

Comparison of the Revenue Situation in Interventional Radiology Based on the Example of Peripheral Artery Disease in the Case of a DRG Payment System and Various Internal Treatment Charges.

Purpose:  Calculation of process-orientated costs for inpatient endovascular treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) from an interventional radiology (IR) perspective. Comparison of revenue situations in consideration of different ways to calculate internal treatment charges (ITCs) and diagnosis-related groups (DRG) for an independent IR department.

Materials And Methods:  Costs (personnel, operating, material, and indirect costs) for endovascular treatment of PAD patients in an inpatient setting were calculated on a full cost basis.

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI): Experimental Quantification of Vascular Stenosis Using Stationary Stenosis Phantoms.

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is able to provide high temporal and good spatial resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity. Furthermore, it is a truly quantitative method as its signal strength is proportional to the concentration of its tracer, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs). Because of that, MPI is proposed to be a promising future method for cardiovascular imaging.

Multi-color magnetic particle imaging for cardiovascular interventions.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) uses magnetic fields to visualize the spatial distribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs). Guidance of cardiovascular interventions is seen as one possible application of MPI. To safely guide interventions, the vessel lumen as well as all required interventional devices have to be visualized and be discernible from each other.

Magnetic Particle Imaging: A Resovist Based Marking Technology for Guide Wires and Catheters for Vascular Interventions.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is able to provide high temporal and good spatial resolution, high signal to noise ratio and sensitivity. Furthermore, it is a truly quantitative method as its signal strength is proportional to the concentration of its tracer, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs), over a wide range practically relevant concentrations. Thus, MPI is proposed as a promising future method for guidance of vascular interventions.

The brain renin-angiotensin system plays a crucial role in regulating body weight in diet-induced obesity in rats.

Background And Purpose: Reduced weight gain after treatment with AT1 receptor antagonists may involve a brain-related mechanism. Here, we investigated the role of the brain renin-angiotensin system on weight regulation and food behaviour, with or without additional treatment with telmisartan.

Methods: Transgenic rats with a brain-specific deficiency in angiotensinogen (TGR(ASrAOGEN)) and the corresponding wild-type, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed (3 months) with a high-calorie cafeteria diet (CD) or standard chow.

Magnetic particle imaging: current developments and future directions.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a novel imaging method that was first proposed by Gleich and Weizenecker in 2005. Applying static and dynamic magnetic fields, MPI exploits the unique characteristics of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The SPIONs' response allows a three-dimensional visualization of their distribution in space with a superb contrast, a very high temporal and good spatial resolution.

Lack of weight gain after angiotensin AT1 receptor blockade in diet-induced obesity is partly mediated by an angiotensin-(1-7)/Mas-dependent pathway.

Background And Purpose: Angiotensin AT1 receptor antagonists induce weight loss; however, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is unknown. The Mas receptor agonist angiotensin-(1-7) is a metabolite of angiotensin I and of angiotensin II . As an agonist of Mas receptors, angiotensin-(1-7) has beneficial cardiovascular and metabolic effects.

Dynamic MR angiography in acute aortic dissection.

Background: To evaluate the benefit (additional flow information), image quality, and diagnostic accuracy of a dynamic magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) combining high spatial and temporal resolution for the preinterventional assessment of acute aortic dissection.

Methods: Nineteen patients (12 men, 7 women; aged 32-78 years) with acute aortic dissection underwent contrast-enhanced four-dimensional (4D) MRA and 3D conventional high-resolution MRA (3D MRA) within one examination on a 1.5 Tesla MR system.

Magnetic particle imaging: kinetics of the intravascular signal in vivo.

Background: Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) uses magnetic fields to visualize superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIO). Today, Resovist(®) is still the reference SPIO for MPI. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vivo blood half-life of two different types of Resovist (one from Bayer Pharma AG, and one from I'rom Pharmaceutical Co Ltd) in MPI.

Follow-up of probably benign lesions in non-screening breast diagnostics.

Purpose: Our study addresses at the benefit of surveillance of probably benign lesions, detected outside mammographic screening, during a 3-year period.

Methods: 28,588 women (mean age 57 ± 12 years) were examined. Two independent radiologists read the mammogram as well as the supplemented ultrasound (in case of breast density ACR type 3 and 4).

Safety measurements for heating of instruments for cardiovascular interventions in magnetic particle imaging (MPI) - first experiences.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) has emerged as a new imaging method with the potential of delivering images of high spatial and temporal resolutions and free of ionizing radiation. Recent studies demonstrated the feasibility of differentiation between signal-generating and non-signal-generating devices in Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy (MPS) and visualization of commercially available catheters and guide-wires in MPI itself. Thus, MPI seems to be a promising imaging tool for cardiovascular interventions.

Chronic blockade of angiotensin AT₁ receptors improves cardinal symptoms of metabolic syndrome in diet-induced obesity in rats.

Background And Purpose: AT₁ receptor antagonists decrease body weight gain in models of murine obesity. However, fewer data are available concerning the anti-obesity effects of these antagonists, given as a treatment after obesity had been established.

Experimental Approach: In spontaneously hypertensive rats, obesity was established by cafeteria diet (CD) feeding for 19 weeks.

Comparison of commercial iron oxide-based MRI contrast agents with synthesized high-performance MPI tracers.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) recently emerged as a new tomographic imaging method directly visualizing the amount and location of superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIOs) with high spatial resolution. To fully exploit the imaging performance of MPI, specific requirements are demanded on the SPIOs. Most important, a sufficiently high number of detectable harmonics of the receive signal spectrum is required.

A dual-axis tilt acquisition geometry for digital musculoskeletal tomosynthesis.

Digital tomosynthesis (DT) is a limited angle tomographic x-ray technique. It is an attractive low-dose alternative to computed tomography (CT) in many imaging applications. However, the DT dataset is incomplete, which leads to out-of-focus artifacts and limited axial resolution.

Contrast-enhanced time-resolved 4D MRA of congenital heart and vessel anomalies: image quality and diagnostic value compared with 3D MRA.

Objectives: To evaluate time-resolved interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST) contrast-enhanced 4D magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and compare it with 3D FLASH MRA in patients with congenital heart and vessel anomalies.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with congenital heart and vessel anomalies underwent contrast-enhanced MRA with both 3D FLASH and 4D TWIST MRA. Images were subjectively evaluated regarding total image quality, artefacts, diagnostic value and added diagnostic value of 4D dynamic imaging.

Magnetic particle imaging: visualization of instruments for cardiovascular intervention.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of different approaches of instrument visualization for cardiovascular interventions guided by using magnetic particle imaging (MPI).

Materials And Methods: Two balloon (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty) catheters were used. The balloon was filled either with diluted superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) ferucarbotran (25 mmol of iron per liter) or with sodium chloride.

Outcome and management of invasive candidiasis following oesophageal perforation.

The regular colonisation of the oesophagus with a Candida species can, after oesophageal perforation, result in a contamination of the mediastinum and the pleura with a Candida species. A patient cohort of 80 patients with oesophageal perforation between 1986 and 2010 was analysed retrospectively. The most common sources with positive results for Candida were mediastinal biopsies and broncho-alveolar secretions.

Magnetic particle imaging: introduction to imaging and hardware realization.

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a recently invented tomographic imaging method that quantitatively measures the spatial distribution of a tracer based on magnetic nanoparticles. The new modality promises a high sensitivity and high spatial as well as temporal resolution. There is a high potential of MPI to improve interventional and image-guided surgical procedures because, today, established medical imaging modalities typically excel in only one or two of these important imaging properties.

Toward cardiovascular interventions guided by magnetic particle imaging: first instrument characterization.

Magnetic particle imaging has emerged as a new technique for the visualization and quantification of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. It seems to be a very promising application for cardiovascular interventional radiology. A prerequisite for interventions is the artifact-free visualization of the required instruments and implants.

Triple-TWIST MRA: high spatial and temporal resolution MR angiography of the entire peripheral vascular system using a time-resolved 4D MRA technique.

Objectives: Multi-station contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is considered as the imaging investigation of first choice in patients suffering from peripheral arterial occlusive disease. In order to overcome venous overlay and to gain dynamic flow information as provided by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), we developed a triple injection protocol for high-resolution MRA of the entire peripheral vascular system, applying time-resolved (TR) four-dimensional (4D) MRA sequences.

Methods: Ten patients underwent three-station TR-MRA of the pelvis and lower extremities with DSA as reference standard.

Fundamentals and applications of magnetic particle imaging.

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a new medical imaging technique which performs a direct measurement of magnetic nanoparticles, also known as superparamagnetic iron oxide. MPI can acquire quantitative images of the local distribution of the magnetic material with high spatial and temporal resolution. Its sensitivity is well above that of other methods used for the detection and quantification of magnetic materials, for example, magnetic resonance imaging.

Improved insulin sensitivity after long-term treatment with AT1 blockers is not associated with PPARγ target gene regulation.

In both cell culture experiments and in vivo studies, a number of angiotensin II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor antagonists activated the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ). This mechanism has been discussed to be, at least in part, responsible for the improvement in glucose metabolism observed in animal studies and clinical trials. To investigate whether the PPARγ-dependent mechanism may represent a valid target for chronic therapy, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were fed either with a cafeteria diet (CD) or standard chow.