The presence of sodium nitrate in generator eluate decreases the radiochemical purity of 99mTc-sestamibi.

Unlabelled: A high radiochemical purity (RCP) is recommended for radiopharmaceutical compounds used in the clinical practice of nuclear medicine. However, some preparations of (99m)Tc-sestamibi contain excess impurities (>6%). To understand the origin of these impurities, we investigated the effect of sodium nitrate on the RCP of sestamibi preparations by testing eluates from 3 commercially available (99m)Tc generators.

Rapid quality control for testing the radiochemical purity of 99Tc(m)-tetrofosmin.

We describe a new thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method to evaluate the radiochemical purity of 99Tc(m)-tetrofosmin without the drawbacks of toxicity, solvent ratios and time requirement associated with the standard TLC method. The new method uses miniaturized instant TLC plates impregnated with silica gel (ITLCTM/SG, 2.5 x 10 cm) for the stationary phase and 2-butanone for the mobile phase.

Prognostic impact of cathepsin D and c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in a subgroup of node-negative breast cancer patients with low histological grade tumors.

Some node-negative breast cancer patients, with initially good prognosis, relapse from their cancer and are poorly identified. In the present study, based on prospective data of 197 tumors, we measured cathepsin D (cath D, n=197), pS2 protein (n=125), c-erbB-2 oncoprotein (n=100) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R, n=99) to better define the risk of relapse of node-negative patients in comparison with that defined by the clinical and histological factors. The median follow-up in surviving patients was 75 months.

Emergency interruption of the inferior vena cava: a debatable issue.

In spite of improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of thromboembolic disease, pulmonary embolism continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Anticoagulation remains the preferred therapy for deep venous thrombosis; however, this form of treatment is either ineffective or contraindicated for some patients. For these patients, partial interruption of the inferior vena cava via percutaneous filter placement has become the procedure of choice to protect against fatal pulmonary embolism.