A multicentre simulation study of planar whole-body bone scintigraphy in Sweden.

Background: Whole-body bone scintigraphy is a clinically useful non-invasive and highly sensitive imaging method enabling detection of metabolic changes at an early stage of disease, often earlier than with conventional radiologic procedures. Bone scintigraphy is one of the most common nuclear medicine methods used worldwide. Therefore, it is important that the examination is implemented and performed in an optimal manner giving the patient added value in the subsequent care process.

18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Recent studies have shown promising results using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). However, previous studies did not include negative controls. The aim of this study was to compare (18)F-FDG-uptake around prosthetic aortic valves in patients with and without PVE and to determine the diagnostic performance of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of PVE.

Discrepancies in recommended criteria for grading of carotid stenosis with ultrasound.

The accuracy of duplex ultrasound for grading of internal carotid artery stenosis has been widely tested and shown to be high. However, different methods for measurement of the degree of carotid stenosis with the golden standard conventional angiography have been used in the different studies. This, together with other factors, has led to some confusion regarding the relation between the ultrasonographically measured flow velocity and the angiographically measured degree of stenosis.

A study of plaque vascularization and inflammation using quantitative contrast-enhanced US and PET/CT.

Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an in vivo methodology to quantify carotid plaque vascularization. Increased metabolism in plaques, measured as FDG uptake in PET/CT examination, has been associated with markers of inflammation in histological samples. In this study, we tested the association between FDG uptake and vascularization measured by CEUS to assess whether CEUS can be used as an in vivo marker of plaque vulnerability.

Cerebrospinal fluid markers of brain injury, inflammation, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction in cardiac surgery.

Background: Neurocognitive dysfunction occurs frequently after open-heart surgery. Cerebral microembolization, inflammation, blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, and impaired cerebral oxygenation are considered among possible etiologies. The relationships between intraoperative microembolic signals and the release of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of inflammation, neuronal and glial cell injuries, and BBB function were evaluated after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Asymmetric cerebral blood flow in patients with mild cognitive impairment: possible relationship to further cognitive deterioration.

Aim: To explore patterns of cerebral blood flow in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who (1) eventually deteriorate into overt dementia, with no particular focus on the type of dementia, or (2) do not appear to further deteriorate in their cognitive functions.

Methods: Thirty-seven MCI patients, with or without vascular pathology, were studied prospectively. The patients underwent (99m)Tc-HMPAO SPECT analysis at baseline.