MDCT of the liver in obese patients: evaluation of a different method to optimize iodine dose.

Purpose: To prospectively compare two different approaches for estimating the amount of intravenous contrast media (CM) needed for multiphasic MDCT of the liver in obese patients.

Materials And Methods: This single-center, HIPAA-compliant prospective study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Ninety-six patients (55 men, 41 women), with a total of 42 hypovascular liver lesions, underwent MDCT of the liver.

Interleukin-18 modulation in autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease which affects 1 in 88 children. Its etiology remains basically unknown, but it is apparent that neuroinflammation is involved in disease development. Great attention has been focused on pro-inflammatory cytokines, and several studies have reported their dysfunction unbalance in serum as well as in the brain.