Diagnostic performance of IQ·SPECT with high-speed scanning: A preliminary quality control study in obese patients.

Background: IQ·SPECT is a recently introduced collimator design for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Little data exist on use of this collimator type in obese patients, particularly Class 2 or 3 [body mass index (BMI) > 35 kg/m].

Methods: Two consecutive rest-stress MPI scans were prospectively acquired using a conventional collimator and IQ·SPECT (acquisition times of 20 and 7 minutes, respectively) in 20 patients with a BMI of >30 kg/m.

Review of Cases of E-Cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) and Brief Review of the Literature.

Since the appearance of the E-Cigarette in the early 2000s, its industry, popularity, and prevalence have risen dramatically. In the past, E-Cigarette use with the vaping of nicotine or cannabis products had been associated with a few reported cases of lung injury. However, in 2019, thousands of cases of E-Cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) were reported in the United States.

Flexible thermoelectric generators with inkjet-printed bismuth telluride nanowires and liquid metal contacts.

Solution phase printing of nanomaterials is becoming increasingly important for the creation of scalable flexible electronics including those associated with biomedical and energy harvesting applications. However, the use of solution-phase printed thermoelectric energy generators (TEGs) has been minimally explored. Herein we report a highly flexible inkjet-printed TEG.

Adding value to myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT studies that include coronary calcium CT: Detection of incidental pulmonary arterial dilatation.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of undiagnosed pulmonary arterial dilatation using the gated computed tomography (CT) images acquired in patients with an otherwise normal Tc-sestamibi single-photon-emission CT (SPECT)/CT myocardial perfusion study.This was a retrospective review of 200 consecutive patients (100 men, mean age 58.7 years) who underwent a myocardial perfusion Tc-sestamibi SPECT/CT study with normal perfusion and with gated CT images acquired for coronary calcium scoring.

Myocardial Blood Flow and Inflammatory Cardiac Sarcoidosis.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effects of inflammatory sarcoid disease on coronary circulatory function and the response to immune-suppressive treatment.

Background: Although positron emission tomography assessment of myocardial inflammation is increasingly applied to identify active cardiac sarcoidosis, its effect on coronary flow and immune-suppressive treatment remains to be characterized.

Methods: Thirty-two individuals, who were referred for positron emission tomography/computed tomography, were evaluated for known or suspected cardiac sarcoidosis applying F-fluorodeoxyglucose to determine inflammation and N-ammonia to assess for perfusion deficits following a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet and fasting state >12 h to suppress myocardial glucose uptake.

Post-treatment 18F-FDG-PET/CT versus contrast-enhanced CT in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: comparative effectiveness study.

Objective: To compare the accuracy of same-day therapy-assessment PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) and conventional contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Methods: A total of 110 (95 men and 15 women; mean age 59 years) patients with biopsy-proven OPSCC were evaluated with same-day PET/CT and CECT pair scans as part of follow-up therapy assessment. Scans were performed within 6 months after the completion of primary treatment (median time: 3.

A leukemic presentation of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in a 52-year-old woman without an identifiable primary tumor.

A 52-year-old woman presented with fatigue and thrombocytopenia. Imaging studies were unremarkable with the exception of a positron emission tomography scan, which demonstrated intense F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake fusing to the marrow. A bone marrow aspirate was notable for large discohesive cells with basophilic cytoplasm, and flow cytometric analysis identified a population of phenotypically unusual cells that coexpressed CD56 and CD71.

FDG PET/CT in the management of primary pleural tumors and pleural metastases.

OBJECTIVE. FDG PET/CT is emerging as an important modality in the evaluation of pleural tumors. PET/CT has an established role in the diagnosis and staging and shows promise in therapy planning, therapy response assessment, and providing prognostic information in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Aortic intramural hematoma: review of high-risk imaging features.

Aortic intramural hematoma is among the spectrum of pathologies that comprises acute aortic syndrome and carries a risk of progression to aortic dissection, aneurysm, rupture, and other complications. Evaluation by CT can identify imaging features associated with higher risk of complications. Ulcer-like projections, enlarged aortic diameter, increased hematoma thickness, and Stanford type A classification are associated with progression to complications.

Incidence and risk factors of renal dysfunction after thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Objectives: The risk of renal failure after thoracic endovascular aortic repair is not widely established. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and risk factors of renal failure.

Methods: Between 1998 and 2008, 175 consecutive patients underwent 210 procedures at 2 tertiary academic institutions.

Distribution of intimomedial tears in patients with type B aortic dissection.

Objective: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair is a promising means of treating patients with complicated type B aortic dissection by excluding the intimomedial tears. This study aims to characterize the location of tears and to propose a classification of type B aortic dissections based on these findings.

Methods: Advanced protocols in computed tomography scans of patients with type B aortic dissection were used to identify the size and location of intimomedial tears in relation to the origin of the left subclavian artery.

A haplotype containing quantitative trait loci for SLC1A1 gene expression and its association with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Context: Recent evidence from linkage analyses and follow-up candidate gene studies supports the involvement of SLC1A1, which encodes the neuronal glutamate transporter, in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Objectives: To determine the role of genetic variation of SLC1A1 in OCD in a large case-control study and to better understand how SLC1A1 variation affects functionality.

Design: A case-control study.

Guidewires, catheters, and sheaths used for thoracic endografting procedures.

Background: Endovascular repair represents an option becoming progressively more integral to the treatment of thoracic aortic pathology. Effective use by practitioners of the most appropriate endovascular equipment is essential to the continued growth of this treatment modality. This article aims to provide an overview of the guidewires, catheters, and sheaths employed in the practice of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).

Use of transcranial Doppler ultrasound in endovascular repair of a type B aortic dissection.

Intraprocedural monitoring with transcranial Doppler ultrasound in thoracic endovascular aortic repair provides critical information regarding the occurrence of cerebral microemboli and adequacy of cerebral blood flow. We present the perioperative course of a patient with complicated Stanford type B aortic dissection undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair with continuous intraoperative transcranial Doppler ultrasound monitoring.

A novel, putative gain-of-function haplotype at SLC6A4 associates with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling neuropsychiatric illness with strong segregation data indicative of major genetic contributions. Association analyses of common functional variants of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), a long-standing OCD candidate, have so far been inconsistent. Here, we set out to investigate the role of additional functional SLC6A4 loci in OCD.

A large case-control study of common functional SLC6A4 and BDNF variants in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Both serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genes have shown positive associations with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and some other psychiatric disorders, but these results have not been consistently replicated. To explore the hypothesis that this variability might result from the effects of differing combinations of overlooked variants within SLC6A4 together with small OCD and control sample sizes, we studied three common functional polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR, STin2, and the newly discovered SNP, rs25531) in the largest sample size of OCD patients (N=347) and controls (N=749) ever investigated. During methods development, we found evidence for potential SLC6A4 genotyping problems with earlier methodology, a third possible contributor to variability in earlier studies.