Utility of computed tomography fusion imaging for the evaluation of the ablative margin of radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma and the correlation to local tumor progression.

Aim: To demonstrate the usefulness of the computed tomography (CT) fusion imaging for the evaluation of treatment effect of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Eighty-five patients with 94 HCC with complete ablation judged on conventional side-by-side interpretation of pre-RFA and post-RFA CT at the time of RFA were included in this retrospective study. CT data was retrospectively used to create fusion images of pre-RFA and post-RFA CT using automatic rigid registration and manual correction referring to intrahepatic structures and hepatic contours around a tumor.

Sonazoid-enhanced ultrasonography for the diagnosis of an intrapancreatic accessory spleen: a case report.

We report a case of an intrapancreatic accessory spleen in 59-year-old man, in which contrast-enhanced sonography (US) using Sonazoid, a second-generation contrast agent, was useful for the diagnosis. Sonazoid-enhanced US could prove both hypervascularity and the existence of reticuloendothelial cell systems in the mass, which is the key to the diagnosis of an accessory spleen. Sonazoid-enhanced US might become a standard imaging technique for the diagnosis of an accessory spleen.

[Effects of dressing containing plant sterol on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety evaluation in borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic Japanese subjects].

In a placebo-controlled double-blind study, we examined the effects of dressing containing plant sterol (PS) on blood lipids and the safety in Japanese borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. Fifty-nine subjects [total cholesterol (TC) concentration > or = 200 mg/dL] were randomly divided into two groups and were given daily 15 g of dressing containing 800 mg of PS [PS(+)-group] or without PS [PS(-)-group] for 12 weeks. Every 4 weeks, fasting blood was examined and subjective symptoms were analyzed.

[Minimal effective dose on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety evaluation of dressing containing plant sterol in Japanese subjects].

We examined the minimal effective dose on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety of dressing containing plant sterol in humans. EXP.1: Sixty-eight healthy Japanese males (total cholesterol (TC) > or = 170 mg/dL) were randomly divided into four groups, and were given 0, 400, 800 or 1200 mg/day of plant sterol in 15 g dressing for 4 weeks followed by the washout period of 4 weeks.

Hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: Combined dynamic MDCT and SPIO-enhanced MRI versus combined CTHA and CTAP.

Aim: Recently, many diagnostic modalities have been developed for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Of these, a less invasive and more accurate diagnostic procedure is desirable. This study was undertaken to compare combined dynamic multidetector row helical computerized tomography (MDCT) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with combined CT hepatic arteriography (CTHA) and CT during arterial portography (CTAP) for the detection of hypervascular HCC.