Association between perivascular inflammation and downstream myocardial perfusion in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Aims: To investigate the association between pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) computed tomography (CT) attenuation derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and coronary flow reserve (CFR) by positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: PCAT CT attenuation was measured in proximal segments of all major epicardial coronary vessels of 105 patients with suspected CAD. We evaluated the relationship between PCAT CT attenuation and other quantitative/qualitative CT-derived anatomic parameters with CFR by PET.

The Role of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Left-sided Endocarditis: Native vs Prosthetic Valves Endocarditis.

Background: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) has emerged as a useful diagnostic tool for suspected infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with prosthetic valves or implantable devices. However, there is limited evidence regarding use of 18F-FDG-PET/CT for the diagnosis of native valve endocarditis (NVE).

Methods: Between 2014 and 2017, 303 episodes of left-sided suspected IE (188 prosthetic valves/ascending aortic prosthesis and 115 native valves) were studied.

Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography staging can replace bone marrow biopsy in Hodgkin's lymphoma. Results from Brazilian Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group.

Objective: To investigate, in a large prospective multicenter study, whether 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography is sufficiently accurate to identify clinically important bone marrow involvement by Hodgkin's lymphoma to replace routine bone marrow biopsy in a developing tropical country.

Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma were recruited from six cancer centers in Brazil. All were staged by the results of positron emission tomography/computed tomography that were centrally reviewed and by iliac crest bone marrow biopsy.

Myocardial perfusion in patients with suspected coronary artery disease: comparison between 320-MDCT and rubidium-82 PET.

Objectives: Despite advances in non-invasive myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) evaluation, computed tomography (CT) multiphase MPI protocols have not yet been compared with the highly accurate rubidium-82 positron emission tomography (RbPET) MPI. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate agreement between RbPET and 320-detector row CT (320-CT) MPI using a multiphase protocol in suspected CAD patients.

Methods: Forty-four patients referred for MPI evaluation were prospectively enrolled and underwent dipyridamole stress RbPET and multiphase 320-CT MPI (five consecutive volumetric acquisitions during stress).

Left ventricular function in response to dipyridamole stress: head-to-head comparison between Rubidium PET and Tc-sestamibi SPECT ECG-gated myocardial perfusion imaging.

Purpose: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with Tc-sestamibi (sestamibi) SPECT and rubidium-82 (Rb) PET both allow for combined assessment of perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. We sought to compare parameters of LV function obtained with both methods using a single dipyridamole stress dose.

Materials And Methods: A group of 221 consecutive patients (65.

Myocardial blood flow assessment with 82rubidium-PET imaging in patients with left bundle branch block.

Objectives: Perfusion abnormalities are frequently seen in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) when a left bundle branch block is present. A few studies have shown decreased coronary flow reserve in the left anterior descending territory, regardless of the presence of coronary artery disease.

Objective: We sought to investigate rubidium-82 (82Rb) positron emission tomography imaging in the assessment of myocardial blood flow and coronary flow reserve in patients with left bundle branch block.

Calculation of Cardiac Kinetic Energy Index from PET images.

Cardiac function can be assessed from displacement measurements in imaging modalities from nuclear medicine Using positron emission tomography (PET) image sequences with Rubidium-82, we propose and estimate the total Kinetic Energy Index (KEf) obtained from the velocity field, which was calculated using 3D optical flow(OF) methods applied over the temporal image sequence. However, it was found that the brightness of the image varied unexpectedly between frames, violating the constant brightness assumption of the OF method and causing large errors in estimating the velocity field. Therefore total brightness was equalized across image frames and the adjusted configuration tested with rest perfusion images acquired from individuals with normal (n=30) and low (n=33) cardiac function.

Combined PET and biopsy evidence of marrow involvement improves prognostic prediction in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Unlabelled: Bone marrow is an important extranodal site in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and marrow histology has been incorporated into the new National Comprehensive Cancer Network international prognostic index. Marrow involvement demonstrated histologically confers poor prognosis but is identified by staging PET in more cases. How information from staging PET and biopsy should be combined to optimize outcome prediction remains unclear.

Influence of the arm position in myocardial perfusion imaging acquisition.

Objective: despite the technologic advances in myocardial perfusion imaging, we keep using an uncomfortable and sometimes impracticable patient position - supine with arms raised above the head (U). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether perfusion and functional cardiac gated SPECT scan results of acquisition U are equivalent to another position modality: supine with arms down at the sides of the trunk (D).

Methods And Results: we performed U acquisition and in sequence D acquisition in 120 patients (pts) using a one-day MPI (rest-gated/stress), with 99mTc-sestamibi (370 MBq and 1110 MBq).

Early postnatal rat ventricle resection leads to long-term preserved cardiac function despite tissue hypoperfusion.

One-day-old mice display a brief capacity for heart regeneration after apex resection. We sought to examine this response in a different model and to determine the impact of this early process on long-term tissue perfusion and overall cardiac function in response to stress. Apical resection of postnatal rats at day 1 (P1) and 7 (P7) rendered 18 ± 1.

Investigation route of the coronary patient in the public health system in Curitiba, São Paulo and in InCor--IMPACT study.

Background: The investigation of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and its treatment depend on risk stratification for decision-making on the need for cardiac catheterization and revascularization.

Objective: To analyze the procedures used in the diagnosis and invasive treatment of patients with CAD, at the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) in the cities of Curitiba, São Paulo and at InCor-FMUSP.

Methods: Retrospective, descriptive, observational study of the diagnostic and therapeutic itineraries of the Brazilian public health care system patient, between groups submitted or not to prior noninvasive tests to invasive cardiac catheterization.

2-[18F]-fluoro-2-desoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography initial staging impacts on survival in Hodgkin lymphoma.

Aim: To assess the prognostic value and risk classification improvement of metabolic staging (MS) with Initial 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-desoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in initial staging of Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) patients to predict 5 years overall survival (5y-OS) and event free survival (EFS).

Methods: A total of 275 patients were included in this retrospective study, 155 patients were staged with conventional anatomical staging (AS), and 120 also submitted to MS (FDG-PET). Prognostic analysis compared 5y-OS and 5y-EFS of patients staged with AS and MS.

Low-carbohydrate diet versus euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp for the assessment of myocardial viability with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET: a pilot study.

Positron emission tomography with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) is considered the gold standard for myocardial viability. A pilot study was undertaken to compare FDG-PET using euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp before (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) administration (PET-CLAMP) with a new proposed technique consisting of a 24-h low-carbohydrate diet before (18)F-FDG injection (PET-DIET), for the assessment of hypoperfused but viable myocardium (hibernating myocardium). Thirty patients with previous myocardial infarction were subjected to rest (99m)Tc-sestamibi-SPECT and two (18)F-FDG studies (PET-CLAMP and PET-DIET).

FDG-PET in Lymphoma: Nuclear Medicine Perspective.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a sectional molecular imaging procedure that allows evaluation of the metabolism at a molecular and cellular level. For a PET scan, the patient is injected with a radiotracer, such as (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). FDG PET-computed tomography has become an established modality for metabolic staging and plays an important role in the major steps of evaluation and treatment of most lymphoma subtypes, with significant impact in the initial staging, posttherapy evaluation, and suspect of relapse of disease.

Consistency of FDG-PET accuracy and cost-effectiveness in initial staging of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma across jurisdictions.

Introduction: Two hundred ten patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) were consecutively enrolled in this prospective trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fluorine-18 ((18)F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan in initial staging of patients with HL.

Methods: All 210 patients were staged with conventional clinical staging (CCS) methods, including computed tomography (CT), bone marrow biopsy (BMB), and laboratory tests. Patients were also submitted to metabolic staging (MS) with whole-body FDG-PET scan before the beginning of treatment.

18F-FDG PET after 2 cycles of ABVD predicts event-free survival in early and advanced Hodgkin lymphoma.

Unlabelled: Our objective was to assess the prognostic value of (18)F-FDG PET after 2 cycles of chemotherapy using doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients overall and in subgroups of patients with early and advanced stages and with low and high risks according to the International Prognostic Score (IPS).

Methods: One hundred fifteen patients with newly diagnosed HL were prospectively included in the study. All underwent standard ABVD therapy followed by consolidation radiotherapy in cases of bulky disease.

Dipyridamole stress and rest myocardial perfusion by 64-detector row computed tomography in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Recently, stress myocardial computed tomographic perfusion (CTP) was shown to detect myocardial ischemia. Our main objective was to evaluate the feasibility of dipyridamole stress CTP and compare it to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to detect significant coronary stenosis using invasive conventional coronary angiography (CCA; stenosis >70%) as the reference method. Thirty-six patients (62 +/- 8 years old, 20 men) with previous positive results with SPECT (<2 months) as the primary inclusion criterion and suspected coronary artery disease underwent a customized multidetector-row CT protocol with myocardial perfusion evaluation at rest and during stress and coronary CT angiography (CTA).

Cost effectiveness of positron emission tomography in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma in unconfirmed complete remission or partial remission after first-line therapy.

Purpose: To assess the cost effectiveness of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) with unconfirmed complete remission (CRu) or partial remission (PR) after first-line treatment.

Patients And Methods: One hundred thirty patients with HL were prospectively studied. After treatment, all patients with CRu/PR were evaluated with FDG-PET.

Positron emission tomography with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose for initial staging of hodgkin lymphoma: a single center experience in Brazil.

Background: 2-[18F]-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (FDG-PET) is a well established functional imaging modality for the initial staging of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in patients from Western Europe and North America. The reliability of FDG-PET in populations of different ethnic groups is unclear, as all investigations published to date have come from developed countries.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of FDG-PET in the initial staging of HL patients in a Brazilian population.

Functional bull's eye based on three dimensional velocity information to quantify left ventricle motion in gated-SPECT.

The description and quantification of the regional function of the cardiac left ventricle (LV) involve making quantitative measurements of the heart movement. In this work we present a functional bull's eye or polar map that depicts three dimensional coded velocity information from gated-SPECT images. The polar map is built based on the standards defined by the AHA and comprises 17 segments.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy evaluated by myocardial scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI: changes in left ventricular uptake, dyssynchrony, and function.

Purpose: (99m)Tc-MIBI gated myocardial scintigraphy (GMS) evaluates myocyte integrity and perfusion, left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony and function. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) may improve the clinical symptoms of heart failure (HF), but its benefits for LV function are less pronounced. We assessed whether changes in myocardial (99m)Tc-MIBI uptake after CRT are related to improvement in clinical symptoms, LV synchrony and performance, and whether GMS adds information for patient selection for CRT.

[Preoperative evaluation of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules with 18F-FDG PET].

The aim of this article is to discuss the role of 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in the preoperative evaluation of patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. All studies with patients with thyroid cancer were selected to the calculation of sensitivity. Only studies aiming to evaluate patients with thyroid nodules whose cytological result was indeterminate were selected to establish the specificity.