"They Can't Possibly Understand What I'm Going Through": Female Farmers' Perspectives on Barriers to Care in Georgia.

The purpose of this study was to explore female farmers' perspectives on barriers to engaging with resources for physical and mental healthcare faced by agriculture producers in the state of Georgia. In-depth interviews were conducted with female farm owners and managers ( = 16) across the state. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and researchers coded interviews separately before thematic analysis was used to identify common themes.

Utility of whole-body (head-to-toe) PET/CT in the evaluation of melanoma and sarcoma patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the added benefit of whole-body (head-to-toes) PET/CT versus routine 'eyes-to-thighs' PET/CT of melanoma and sarcoma patients.

Patients And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of consecutive whole-body PET/CT scans from January 2006 through December 2010 in patients with melanoma or sarcoma. PET abnormalities in the brain, distal thighs, and legs were recorded and clinical significance was assessed on the basis of pathology, imaging studies, and clinical follow-up.

Optimal interpretative strategy for preoperative parathyroid scintigraphy.

Purpose: Our objective was to retrospectively compare various scintigraphic methods to determine their relative accuracies and interobserver variabilities in preoperative localization of single-gland disease in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Patients And Methods: We studied 292 patients who underwent preoperative parathyroid scintigraphy and surgical resection between June 2002 and September 2008. Imaging included early and delayed pinhole Tc-MIBI imaging (including anterior oblique images), similar I imaging, and MIBI SPECT.

Facelift and patterns of lymphatic drainage.

Background: It has commonly been assumed that deeper facelift dissection causes greater and more prolonged swelling.

Objectives: In this preliminary report, the authors compare the lymphatic reconstitution after multiple techniques of rhytidectomy by means of dynamic lymphoscintigraphy.

Methods: Three patients were enrolled in this study.

Visualization of discrete sacral foramina as an ancillary sign of superscan.

Objectives: the purpose of this study was to determine if visualization of discrete sacral foramina on bone scintigraphy can be used as an adjunct criterion supportive of a superscan diagnosis.

Methods: the Radiology Information System at our institution was queried for all bone scintigraphy reports, during July 1999 to July 2009, containing the words/phrases: normal bone scan, normal bone scintigraphy, superscan, or diffuse osseous metastatic disease. The final study group consisted of 22 normal studies and 8 superscans.

PET imaging today: contribution to the initial staging and prognosis of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are commonly staged according to the Ann Arbor staging system developed for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Recently, new staging modalities including metabolic imaging by positron emission tomography (PET) using F-18 fluorodeoxy-glucose (FDG) have been developed. In the present study, we investigated 77 untreated patients with different histologies of NHL both with conventional imaging techniques and FDG-PET.

Use of PET/CT scanning in cancer patients: technical and practical considerations.

This overview of the oncologic applications of positron emission tomography (PET) focuses on the technical aspects and clinical applications of a newer technique: the combination of a PET scanner and a computed tomography (CT) scanner in a single (PET/CT) device. Examples illustrate how PET/CT contributes to patient care and improves upon the previous state-of-the-art method of comparing a PET scan with a separate CT scan. Finally, the author presents some of the results from studies of PET/CT imaging that are beginning to appear in the literature.

Contribution of PET imaging to the initial staging and prognosis of patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Background: Positron emission tomographic (PET) scanning utilizing [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is a new method of tumor imaging based on the increased glucose metabolic activity of malignant tumors. In Hodgkin's disease (HD), PET has proven value for the evaluation of residual masses following treatment and for the early diagnosis of relapse. In the initial staging of HD, PET frequently shows a higher stage than conventional methods (upstaging by PET).

Benign versus malignant intraosseous lesions: discrimination by means of PET with 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose.

Purpose: To assess the ability of positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) to allow differentiation of benign from malignant intraosseous lesions.

Materials And Methods: Twenty patients with strictly intraosseous lesions (five benign and 15 malignant [three primary and 12 metastatic]) were studied with FDG PET. The final diagnosis was confirmed with histopathologic examination in all patients.

FDG-PET evaluation of indeterminate pancreatic masses.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of PET with 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) to differentiate benign from malignant pancreatic masses in patients with indeterminate findings on CT.

Method: We performed FDG-PET on 12 patients with indeterminate mass lesions and 2 patients with CT findings typical for malignancy. Eight were found to have pancreatic carcinoma and six had benign lesions.

Positron tomographic assessment of estrogen receptors in breast cancer: comparison with FDG-PET and in vitro receptor assays.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to assess the results of PET with 16 alpha-[18F]fluoro-17 beta-estradiol (FES) and [18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) to validate the concordance between tumor estrogen-receptor (ER) status as determined by FES-PET and in vitro assays and to assess the relationship between tumor metabolic activity determined by FDG-PET and tumor ER status, both of which may provide information about tumor aggressiveness and prognosis.

Methods: We studied 32 patients with primary breast masses and 21 patients with clinical or radiological evidence of recurrent/metastatic breast carcinoma. A diagnosis of breast carcinoma was subsequently proven in 43 patients (24 primary, 15 metastatic and 4 recurrent tumors).

Results of a clinical receiver operating characteristic study comparing filtered backprojection and maximum likelihood estimator images in FDG PET studies.

The results of a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) study comparing maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) reconstructions of human FDG PET brain scan data to filtered backprojection reconstructions of the same data are reported. The purpose of the study was to determine whether MLE reconstructions would result in higher detectability of small focal lesions introduced artificially into otherwise normal scan data. One physician assisted in defining the location and intensity of the lesions and five physicians read the final images.

Brain metastases from non-central nervous system tumors: evaluation with PET.

Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was performed in 19 patients with brain metastases from non-central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms and one patient with a primary CNS lymphoma. Various histopathologic types were represented by the primary neoplasms in the patients with metastases. Only 21 of the 31 lesions (68%) were detected with FDG PET as discrete, metabolically active foci (relative to surrounding structures).

Blinded clinical evaluation of positron emission tomography for diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease.

We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of positron emission tomography for diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease under conditions similar to those encountered in the routine clinical practice of nuclear medicine. We obtained tomographic images of regional cerebral blood flow from three groups of subjects: (1) 13 subjects, ages 69 to 84, who had probable Alzheimer's disease diagnosed by validated clinical criteria; (2) 15 subjects, ages 57 to 77, who had Parkinson's disease without dementia; and (3) 11 subjects, ages 65 to 83, who were normal. Three blinded reviewers, who had not previously seen the images, categorized them as normal, bilateral temporoparietal flow defects typical of Alzheimer's disease, or other abnormality.

PET evaluation of soft-tissue masses with fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose.

Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) was performed in 19 patients referred for clinical evaluation of soft-tissue masses. These patients had 20 different lesions and had been evaluated previously with computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The diagnoses were subsequently confirmed with open biopsy or excision (19 lesions) or by clinical and radiographic follow-up (one lesion).

Positron emission tomography in the study of acute radiation effects on renal blood flow in dogs.

Renal blood flow measurements have been carried out by means of positron emission tomography (PET) to facilitate the detection of radiation-induced injuries. The advantages of the method employed in animal experiments are described.

Assessment of 21-[18F]fluoro-16 alpha-ethyl-19-norprogesterone as a positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical for the detection of progestin receptors in human breast carcinomas.

We have used 21-[18F]fluoro-16 alpha-ethyl-19-norprogesterone (FENP) for imaging progestin receptors by PET in patients with primary carcinoma of the breast. In vitro binding and in vivo tissue distribution studies in rats have shown that FENP has high specific activity, high affinity for progestin receptors, and receptor-mediated uptake in target tissues. Eight patients with primary breast carcinoma were studied.

Cross-sectional imaging of the patellofemoral joint and surrounding structures.

Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are extremely useful in the accurate diagnosis of anterior knee pain, a common complaint arising from numerous causes (including fracture, chondromalacia patellae, and alignment and tracking abnormalities). Plain CT is effective for evaluating intraosseous lesions of the knee. Although CT arthrography provides excellent visualization of the patellar articular cartilage, the technique is expensive and invasive.

Sex-dependent differences in N-(3-[18F]fluoropropyl)-N-nordiprenorphine biodistribution and metabolism.

In our work with the new opioid receptor ligand, N-(3-[18F]fluoropropyl)-N-nordiprenorphine, ([18F]FPND), we have noted significant sex-dependent differences in metabolism and distribution. In female rats, metabolism of this ligand proceeds without significant P-450-mediated oxidation of the N-fluoroalkyl side chain, while in male rats, this is the dominant metabolic pathway. In biodistribution experiments, striatal uptake of this ligand is higher in female than in male rats, but no difference in cerebellar uptake is observed.

Effects of model traumatic injury on hepatic drug metabolism in the rat. VI. Major detoxification/toxification pathways.

A previously validated small mammal trauma model, hindlimb ischemia secondary to infrarenal aortic ligation in the rat, was utilized to investigate the effects of traumatic injury on two of the major hepatic enzymes of detoxification, glutathione S-transferase and epoxide hydrolase. Hepatic cytosolic glutathione S-transferase activity toward a variety of substrates showed a 26-34% decrease at 24 hr after model injury. Hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity toward 1,2-epoxy-3-(p-nitrophenoxy)propane was diminished by 53% after model trauma.

Intrathecal administration of nitroxides as potential contrast agents for MR imaging.

The diagnosis of various disorders of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may require the intrathecal administration of a paramagnetic contrast agent. Furthermore, the CSF route provides direct access to the brain, circumventing the blood-brain barrier. Three nitroxides, two charged and one uncharged, were administered intrathecally to dogs to assess their potential as contrast agents for MR imaging of the CSF.

Effects of model traumatic injury on hepatic drug metabolism in the rat. V. Sulfation and acetylation.

A previously validated small mammal trauma model, hind-limb ischemia secondary to infrarenal aortic ligation in the rat, was utilized to investigate the effects of traumatic injury on sulfation and N-acetylation, two of the major phase II conjugative reactions of hepatic drug metabolism. Hepatic cytosolic sulfotransferase activity, as measured by several aryl and hydroxysteroid sulfation assays, was depressed by 20-29% after model injury. N-Acetyltransferase activity towards both isoniazid and p-aminobenzoic acid showed a similar 20-22% decrease.