Immunoglobulin G4-related autoimmune hepatitis following type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis: A case report and literature review.

We herein report a case of IgG4-related autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in a patient with a history of type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis. A 56-year-old man presented with fatigue and jaundice at our hospital. A blood biochemistry analysis revealed significant liver dysfunction, positive results for antinuclear antibodies, and high serum IgG4 levels.

Phantom-Based Standardization Method for I-metaiodobenzylguanidine Heart-to-Mediastinum Ratio Validated by D-SPECT Versus Anger Camera.

: The I-metaiodobenzylguanidine heart-to-mediastinum ratios (HMRs) have been standardized between D-SPECT and Anger cameras in a small patient cohort using a phantom-based conversion method. This study aimed to determine the validity of this method and compare the diagnostic performance of the two cameras in a larger patient cohort. : We retrospectively calculated HMRs from early and late anterior-planar equivalent and planar images acquired from 173 patients in 177 studies using D-SPECT and Anger cameras, respectively.

Exercise program to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and physical frailty in older adults: study protocol for an open label double-arm clinical trial.

Objective: It is a big problem that many older adults are physically inactive. Well-known benefits of physical exercise include a decrease in the risk of cognitive decline and physical frailty. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether our proposed exercise program can prevent cognitive decline and improve physical function in the elderly.

Modified signal-to-noise ratio in the liver using the background-to-lung activity ratio to assess image quality of whole-body F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

The signal-to-noise ratio in the liver (SNR liver) is commonly used to assess the quality of positron emission tomography (PET) images; however, it is weakly correlated with visual assessments. Conversely, the noise equivalent count (NEC) density showed a strong correlation with visual assessment but did not consider the effects of image reconstruction conditions. Therefore, we propose a new indicator, the modified SNR liver, and plan to verify its usefulness by comparing it with conventional indicators.

The Visceral-to-subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Area Ratio Is Associated with Retreatment in Chronic Pancreatitis Patients with Pancreatolithiasis after Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy.

Objective Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has been used to treat pancreatolithiasis in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), but the high recurrence rate remains challenging. We therefore evaluated the association between body composition parameters and the prediction of retreatment after ESWL. Methods This study retrospectively evaluated 42 patients with CP who had been treated with ESWL between 2008 and 2019 in a single center.

Hydrogen-producing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is associated with hepatic encephalopathy and liver function.

Overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is one of the complications of liver cirrhosis (LC), which negatively affects the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is significantly associated with LC and its complications, including HE. We investigated the relationship between SIBO and LC, and the difference between hydrogen-producing and methane-producing SIBO (H-SIBO and M-SIBO, respectively).

Obesity and accumulation of subcutaneous adipose tissue are poor prognostic factors in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

In alcoholic liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, obesity has become a problem that progresses into liver dysfunction. Herein, we investigated the relationship between the prognosis of steatohepatitis and body weight, along with fat accumulation in patients with alcoholic LC. We conducted a single-center retrospective study, enrolled 104 alcoholic LC patients without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on histological and clinical evidence, and investigated factors related to poor prognosis using multivariate Cox regression and cluster analyses.

Safety and efficacy of Melissa officinalis extract containing rosmarinic acid in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease progression.

We conducted a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind 24-week trial using Melissa officinalis (M. officinalis) extract richly containing rosmarinic acid (RA) on patients with mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the aim to examine the safety and tolerability (primary endpoint) of RA (500 mg daily) and its clinical effects and disease-related biomarker changes (secondary endpoints). Patients (n = 23) diagnosed with mild dementia due to probable AD were randomized to either the placebo or M.

Comparison of F-FDG PET/CT and Ga-SPECT for the diagnosis of fever of unknown origin: a multicenter prospective study in Japan.

Objective: The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to compare the sensitivity of F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with that of Ga single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the identification of the site of greatest importance for the final diagnosis of the cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO).

Methods: The study participants consisted of patients with an axillary temperature ≥ 38.0 °C on ≥ 2 occasions within 1 week, with repeated episodes for ≥ 2 weeks prior to providing consent, and whose final diagnosis after undergoing specific examinations, including a chest-to-abdomen CT scan, was uncertain.

Texture Feature Comparison Between Step-and-Shoot and Continuous-Bed-Motion F-FDG PET.

Our objective was to investigate the differences in texture features between step-and-shoot (SS) and continuous-bed-motion (CBM) imaging in phantom and clinical studies. A National Electrical Manufacturers Association body phantom was filled with F-FDG solution at a sphere-to-background ratio of 4:1. SS and CBM were performed using the same acquisition duration, and the data were reconstructed using 3-dimensional ordered-subset expectation maximization with time-of-flight algorithms.

Monitoring chronological change by liver-to-spleen attenuation ratio for secondary hepatic steatosis for a short term.

Parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD) causes hepatic steatosis and moderate liver enzyme elevation due to lack of enteral nutrition and deficiency of some nutrients. However, the period for recovery from PNALD after a nutritional intervention is unknown with no report. Herein, we report a case of a 44-year-old Japanese woman with severe fatty infiltration of the liver due to malnutrition.

Accuracy of metabolic volume and total glycolysis among six threshold-based target segmentation algorithms.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of six threshold-based segmentation methods with different target-to-background ratios (TBR), images with different voxel sizes and image noise, in measuring metabolic volume (MV) and total glycolysis (TG).

Methods: A standard body phantom consisting of six spheres (inner diameters of 37, 28, 22, 17, 13, and 10 mm) was filled with F-FDG solution. The background radioactivity level was 2.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Diagnosed by a Breath Test and Improved by Rifaximin in a Patient with Hepatic Encephalopathy and Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis.

A 66-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital with grade 2 hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Abdominal computed tomography and laboratory examinations revealed decompensated liver cirrhosis. Intravenous administration of branched-chain amino acids immediately ameliorated the HE, and lactulose was initiated.

Rare gastric outlet obstruction owing to ectopic pancreas: a case report and literature review.

The ectopic pancreas is often observed in the gastrointestinal tract, and is typically asymptomatic. A 28-year-old woman was referred to our hospital following repeated vomiting after every meal. Following gastroscopy, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT), and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), she was diagnosed with gastric outlet obstruction, also known as pyloric obstruction, caused by a giant submucosal cystic tumor.

[The 41st Report on Survey of the Adverse Reaction to Radiopharmaceuticals (The 44th Survey in 2018)].

This survey was performed in order to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2018 in Japan. It was based on the responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. Replies were obtained from 999 institutions among 1,230 to which the questionnaire had been sent.

Full report on a survey of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals from 1975 to 2017 in Japan.

Objective: This pharmacovigilance-based survey was aimed at determining the prevalence of, and association between, radiopharmaceuticals and adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals from 1975 to 2017 in Japan.

Methods: The Subcommittee for Safety Issues of Radiopharmaceuticals of the Japan Radioisotope Association's Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Committee mailed a form for reporting adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals to all institutes performing nuclear medicine examinations in Japan. This investigation included adverse reactions to diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals labeled with both single-photon- and positron-emitting radionuclides and therapeutic sodium iodide labeled with I.

Superior mediastinal lymphadenopathy by silicosis mimicking metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma - Case report and literature review.

Silicosis is caused by inhalation of silica dust and is the most common type of pneumoconiosis. The characteristics of silicosis are inflammation of lung tissue and calcified lymphadenopathy of pulmonary hilum, mediastinum and paratrachea. We present a papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) case with paratracheal and superior mediastinal calcified lymphadenopathy caused by silicosis.

Diagnostic accuracy of an artificial neural network compared with statistical quantitation of myocardial perfusion images: a Japanese multicenter study.

Purpose: Artificial neural networks (ANN) might help to diagnose coronary artery disease. This study aimed to determine whether the diagnostic accuracy of an ANN-based diagnostic system and conventional quantitation are comparable.

Methods: The ANN was trained to classify potentially abnormal areas as true or false based on the nuclear cardiology expert interpretation of 1001 gated stress/rest Tc-MIBI images at 12 hospitals.

Comparison of image quality between step-and-shoot and continuous bed motion techniques in whole-body F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with the same acquisition duration.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the qualities of whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) images acquired by the step-and-shoot (SS) and continuous bed motion (CBM) techniques with approximately the same acquisition duration, through phantom and clinical studies.

Methods: A body phantom with 10-37 mm spheres was filled with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) solution at a sphere-to-background radioactivity ratio of 4:1 and acquired by both techniques. Reconstructed images were evaluated by visual assessment, percentages of contrast (%Q ) and background variability (%N) in accordance with the Japanese guideline for oncology FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT).

[The 38th Report on Survey of the Adverse Reaction to Radiopharmaceuticals (The 41st Survey in 2015)].

This survey was performed to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to radiopharmaceuticals in FY2015 in Japan. It was based on the responses to questionnaires sent to nuclear medicine institutions. The reply was obtained from 981 institutions among 1,274 to which the questionnaire had been sent.

Cross calibration of I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine heart-to-mediastinum ratio with D-SPECT planogram and Anger camera.

Background: Cardiac I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) uptake is quantified using the heart-to-mediastinum ratio (HMR) with an Anger camera. The relationship between HMR determined using D-SPECT with a cadmium-zinc-telluride detector and an Anger camera is not fully understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to define this relationship using images derived from a phantom and from patients.

Evaluation of cytological radiation damage to lymphocytes after I-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine therapy by the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of cytological radiation damage to lymphocytes occurring after I-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy as determined by the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay. The chromosomal damage to lymphocytes induced by I-131 in vivo should result in augmentation of the number of cells with micronuclei.

Methods: We studied 15 patients with pheochromocytoma (14/15) or ganglioneuroma (1/15), who were treated initially with 7.