Gastric Emptying of Maltodextrin versus Phytoglycogen Carbohydrate Solutions in Healthy Volunteers: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Preoperative carbohydrate beverages have been shown to be beneficial in improving patient outcomes. There have been several investigations into the safety of maltodextrin as a preoperative carbohydrate. Although alternative preoperative carbohydrate sources have been proposed, there have been few investigations into the safety and gastric emptying of novel carbohydrate beverages.

Evaluation of left atrial remodeling using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab.

Objectives: We evaluated left atrial (LA) remodeling using cardiac MRI (CMR) in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer during and after trastuzumab therapy.

Methods: In this prospective 2-center longitudinal study, 41 women with HER2-positive breast cancer received adjuvant trastuzumab for 12 months, in addition to standard chemotherapy. Serial CMRs were performed at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months after initiation of trastuzumab.

The painter who changed her brain at the flick of a switch.

The study of artists with acquired brain damage is an empirical way to investigate the multiplicity of cerebral changes that occur with artistic training. We describe a talented painter with a left progressive cerebral lesion. In spite of losing function of her right hand, she regained dexterity of the left one in ten days for painting and drawing but not for writing.

The Effect of Total Hip Arthroplasty Surgical Technique on Postoperative Muscle Atrophy.

A variety of surgical approaches are used for total hip arthroplasty (THA). Controversy still exists regarding whether the direct anterior approach truly minimizes muscle damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surgical approach for THA on muscle atrophy quantified through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Do painters need their whole brain to excel?

Skilled professional artists are sometimes able to maintain their talents while other cognitive functions deteriorate due to brain diseases. The objective of this study is to asses the preserved artistry of a professional painter in spite of the presence of strokes affecting brain areas implicated in art expression. She had a neurologic evaluation and brain imaging after the stroke; painter-curators analyzed and compared the painter's pictorial artwork created before and after the stroke.

Association Between Neuropsychiatric Symptom Trajectory and Conversion to Alzheimer Disease.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are both common in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease (AD). Studies have shown that some NPS such as apathy and depression are a key indicator for progression to AD.

Methods: We compared Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score and NPI subdomain score between mild cognitive impairment-converters (MCI-C) and mild cognitive impairment-nonconverters (MCI-NC) longitudinally for 6 years using the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Correlates of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease/Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common, accelerate the conversion to dementia, and are associated with increased caregiver burden in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify potential associations between the core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (amyloid/tau) and NPS in AD/MCI.

Methods: For this systematic review, four databases, PubMed (1946-2018), Cochrane (2005-2018), EMBASE (1947-2018), and PsycINFO (1806-2018) were searched for relevant observational studies using an extensive list of keywords.

Assessment of left ventricular function by CMR versus MUGA scans in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab: a prospective observational study.

Little is known about the comparison of multiple-gated acquisition (MUGA) scanning with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for serial monitoring of HER2+ breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab. The association of cardiac biomarkers with CMR left ventricular (LV) function and volume is also not well studied. Our objectives were to compare CMR and MUGA for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment, and to examine the association between changes in brain natriuretic peptide (NT-BNP) and troponin-I and changes in CMR LV function and volume.

Music Intervention Approaches for Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of the Literature.

Music interventions have been widely adopted as a potential non-pharmacological therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) to treat cognitive and/or behavioral symptoms of the disease. In spite of the prevalence of such therapies, evidence for their effectiveness report mixed results in the literature. The purpose of this narrative review is to investigate the effectiveness of various intervention strategies (music therapy vs.

Examining the Link Between Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Major Depressive Disorder in Remission.

Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) have been linked to both depression and cognitive decline but their role in neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) has yet to be clarified.

Objective: Understanding the role of CVRFs in the etiology of NPS for prospective treatments and preventive strategies to minimize these symptoms.

Methods: We examined the distribution of NPS using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores in three cohorts from the Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia with Cognitive Remediation Plus Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Depression (PACt-MD) study: older patients with a lifetime history of major depressive disorder (MDD) in remission, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with combined MCI and MDD.

Serial Measurements of Left Ventricular Systolic and Diastolic Function by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Early Stage Breast Cancer on Trastuzumab.

Our aim was to evaluate the temporal changes in left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling in relation to other LV parameters using cardiac MRI (CMR) in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer receiving trastuzumab therapy. Fourty-one women with early stage HER2+ breast cancer underwent serial CMR (baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months) after initiation of trastuzumab therapy. A single, blinded observer measured LV parameters on de-identified CMRs in random order.

Gray Matter Changes Associated With the Development of Delusions in Alzheimer Disease.

Objective: Delusions affect approximately a third of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and are associated with poor outcomes. Previous studies investigating the neuroanatomic correlates of delusions have yet to reach a consensus, with findings of reduced volume across all lobes, particularly in frontal regions. The current study examined the gray matter (GM) differences associated with delusions in AD.

Synthesizing Chest X-Ray Pathology for Training Deep Convolutional Neural Networks.

Medical datasets are often highly imbalanced with over-representation of prevalent conditions and poor representation of rare medical conditions. Due to privacy concerns, it is challenging to aggregate large datasets between health care institutions. We propose synthesizing pathology in medical images as a means to overcome these challenges.

Early diastolic strain rate measurements by cardiac MRI in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab: a longitudinal study.

We evaluated temporal changes in early diastolic strain rates by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) as an early detector of trastuzumab-induced ventricular dysfunction. We conducted a prospective, multi-centre, longitudinal observational study of 41 trastuzumab-treated breast cancer women who underwent serial CMR (baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months). Two blinded readers independently measured left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), peak systolic strain parameters (global longitudinal strain [GLS] and global circumferential strain [GCS]), and early diastolic strain rate parameters (global longitudinal diastolic strain rate [GLSR-E], global circumferential diastolic strain rate [GCSR-E], and global radial diastolic strain rate [GRSR-E]), by feature tracking (FT-CMR) using CMR42.

Cardiac MRI and radionuclide ventriculography for measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction in ICD candidates.

Objective: Current guidelines provide left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) criterion for use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) but do not specify which modality to use for measurement. We compared LVEF measurements by radionuclide ventriculography (RNV) vs cardiac MRI (CMR) in ICD candidates to assess impact on clinical decision making.

Methods: This single-centre study included 124 consecutive patients referred for assessment of ICD implantation who underwent RNV and CMR within 30 days for LVEF measurement.

Canadian Association of Radiologists White Paper on Artificial Intelligence in Radiology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly moving from an experimental phase to an implementation phase in many fields, including medicine. The combination of improved availability of large datasets, increasing computing power, and advances in learning algorithms has created major performance breakthroughs in the development of AI applications. In the last 5 years, AI techniques known as deep learning have delivered rapidly improving performance in image recognition, caption generation, and speech recognition.

Computed tomography identified factors that preclude living kidney donation.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the variety and prevalence of renal and non-renal abnormalities detected on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) that precluded patients from donating a kidney.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and the requirement for informed consent was waived. A retrospective, single-centre review of 701 patients (444 female, 257 male; age range 18-86 years; mean age 43.

Myocardial strain imaging by cardiac magnetic resonance for detection of subclinical myocardial dysfunction in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab and chemotherapy.

Background: Our objectives were to evaluate the temporal changes in CMR-based strain imaging, and examine their relationship with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), in patients treated with trastuzumab.

Patients And Methods: In this prospective longitudinal observational study, 41 women with HER2+ breast cancer treated with chemotherapy underwent serial CMR (baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months) after initiation of trastuzumab (treatment duration 12 months). LVEF and LV strain (global longitudinal[GLS] and circumferential[GCS]) measurements were independently measured by 2 blinded readers.

Longitudinal assessment of right ventricular structure and function by cardiovascular magnetic resonance in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab: a prospective observational study.

Background: There are limited data on the effects of trastuzumab on the right ventricle (RV). Therefore, we sought to evaluate the temporal changes in right ventricular (RV) structure and function as measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), and their relationship with left ventricular (LV) structure and function in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab.

Methods: Prospective, longitudinal, observational study involving 41 women with HER2+ breast cancer who underwent serial CMR at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months after initiation of trastuzumab.

Relationship between changes in blood pressure and left ventricular mass over 1 year in end-stage renal disease.

Objective: The optimal timing of blood pressure (BP) measurement is not firmly established for patients undergoing hemodialysis. We sought to assess which BP measurement change best correlates with changes in left ventricular mass index (LVMI) over 1 year in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Methods: Fifty-seven patients were included in a prospective cohort study comparing the cardiovascular impact of conversion to in-center nocturnal hemodialysis versus continuing conventional hemodialysis.

Training and Validating a Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Computer-Aided Detection and Classification of Abnormalities on Frontal Chest Radiographs.

Objectives: Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are a subtype of artificial neural network that have shown strong performance in computer vision tasks including image classification. To date, there has been limited application of CNNs to chest radiographs, the most frequently performed medical imaging study. We hypothesize CNNs can learn to classify frontal chest radiographs according to common findings from a sufficiently large data set.

Intra-vascular blood velocity and volumetric flow rate calculated from dynamic 4D CT angiography using a time of flight technique.

We examine a time of flight (TOF) approach for the analysis of contrast enhanced 4D volumetric CT angiography scans to derive and display blood velocity in arteries. Software was written to divide blood vessels into a series of cross sections and to track contrast bolus TOF along the central vessel axis, which was defined by a user, from 4D CT source data. Time density curves at each vessel cross section were fit with quadratic, Gaussian, and gamma variate functions to determine bolus time to peak (TTP).

A framework for modeling ocular drug transport and flow through the eye using micro-CT.

This study uses micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging for assessment of concentration and transport mechanisms of ocular drug surrogates following intravitreal injection. Injections of an iodinated contrast agent were administered to enucleated porcine eyes prior to scanning over 192 min. Image analysis was performed using signal profiles and regions of interest that corresponded to specific iodine concentrations.