Quantitative imaging by pixel-based contrast-enhanced ultrasound reveals a linear relationship between synovial vascular perfusion and the recruitment of pathogenic IL-17A-FIL-23 CD161 CD4 T helper cells in psoriatic arthritis joints.

To develop quantitative imaging biomarkers of synovial tissue perfusion by pixel-based contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), we studied the relationship between CEUS synovial vascular perfusion and the frequencies of pathogenic T helper (Th)-17 cells in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) joints. Eight consecutive patients with PsA were enrolled in this study. Gray scale CEUS evaluation was performed on the same joint immediately after joint aspiration, by automatic assessment perfusion data, using a new quantification approach of pixel-based analysis and the gamma-variate model.

Vascular perfusion kinetics by contrast-enhanced ultrasound are related to synovial microvascularity in the joints of psoriatic arthritis.

The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship of the continuous mode contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasound (CEUS) imaging with the histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) quantitative estimation of microvascular proliferation on synovial samples of patients affected by sustained psoriatic arthritis (PsA). A dedicated linear transducer was used in conjunction with a specific continuous mode contrast enhanced harmonic imaging technology with a second-generation sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubbles C-agent. The examination was carried out within 1 week before arthroscopic biopsies in 32 active joints.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound findings in soft-tissue lesions: preliminary results.

Objectives: There is currently no widely available, minimally invasive first-level examination that allows physicians to identify soft-tissue lesions that are likely to be malignant. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the potential suitability of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) for this purpose.

Materials And Methods: 23 patients were referred to the Veneto Oncological Institute for work-up of superficial soft-tissue lesions.

Potential use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the detection of metastatic superficial lymph nodes in melanoma patients.

Purpose: Malignant melanoma represents a significant and growing public health burden worldwide. Ultrasonography is the most useful diagnostic modality for regional lymph nodal staging. Because any focal areas of cortical lobulation or thickening-swelling should also be considered as a sign of metastases, we are going to report the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis of benign or malignant lymph nodes in patients with malignant melanoma based on blood stream patterns and investigate the diagnostic capability.

Blockade of intra-articular TNF in peripheral spondyloarthritis: its relevance to clinical scores, quantitative imaging and synovial fluid and synovial tissue biomarkers.

Objectives: This open-label study is based on a translational approach with the aim of detecting changes in the clinical condition as well as in imaging and synovial biological markers in both synovial fluid (SF) and synovial tissue (ST) in peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients following intra-articular (IA) blockade of TNF-α by serial etanercept injections.

Methods: Twenty-seven SpA patients with resistant knee synovitis underwent four biweekly IA injections of etanercept (E) (12.5 mg).