Reproducibility of 99mTc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine renography: population comparison.

Purpose: To evaluate reproducibility of diuretic renography, performed according to current guidelines in adult and pediatric patient populations.

Materials And Methods: Fifty adult and 50 pediatric renograms were processed twice by each of three observers. For differential renal function (DRF) assessment, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard deviation of DRF calculation and the repeatability parameter were calculated.

Enhancement of cold-induced vasodilatation following acclimatization to altitude.

The present study evaluated the effect of high-altitude acclimatisation on the cold-induced vasodilatation (CIVD) response. A group of highly trained mountaineers (N = 9; Alpinists) were tested before and after a 3 week high-altitude Himalayan expedition (altitude ranging from 3,985 to 6,828 m). A control group (N = 7) with no mountaineering experience was tested at the same time points.

Computerized segmentation and diagnostics of whole-body bone scintigrams.

Bone scintigraphy or whole-body bone scan is one of the most common diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine. Since expert physicians evaluate images manually some automated procedure for pathology detection is desired. A robust knowledge based methodology for segmenting body scans into the main skeletal regions is presented.

Radiation exposure of hemophiliacs after radiosynoviorthesis with 186Re colloid.

Unlabelled: Very limited data are available in the literature on the doses of unwanted radiation that patients receive following treatment with radiosynoviorthesis (RSO).

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the radiation exposure after RSO with (186)Re colloid in hemophiliacs.

Methods: This study involved 12 hemophiliacs who were treated for hemophilic joint disease with 14 RSOs by using (186)Re colloid.

Bone scintigraphy as a prognostic indicator for bone collapse in the early phases of femoral head osteonecrosis.

Objective: Destructive and reconstructive processes at the reactive interface in femoral head osteonecrosis (FHO) are not well defined or predictable. The objectives of our study were to analyze scintigraphic characteristics of the reactive interface in the early stages of FHO and to assess the prognostic value of the reactive interface on scintigraphy (SC).

Methods: Thirty-six hips in 27 patients (21 men, 6 women; mean age 41 years, range 20 64 years) with a final diagnosis of radiographic stage 1 (4 hips) or stage 2 FHO (32 hips) were evaluated by planar and pinhole SC.

Early effects of treatment on regional cerebral blood flow in first episode schizophrenia patients evaluated with 99Tc-ECD-SPECT.

Objectives: Altered regional cerebral blood flow (r-CBF) is mentioned as one of possible etiological factors or as a consequence of schizophrenia. Perfusion scintigraphic brain studies with SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) can detect areas of the brain with altered perfusion during the disease. Conflicting data exist on follow-up after treatment.

Radiosynoviorthesis for treatment of hemophilic hemarthrosis--Slovenian experience.

Unlabelled: Radiosynoviorthesis is a well-accepted method for the treatment of recurrent hemarthrosis in hemophilic patients.

Objectives: The aims of our study were to evaluate the effectiveness of radiosynoviorthesis in patients suffering from hemophilic hemarthrosis, to determine the effect of treatment on antihemophilic factor consumption, and to assess the patient's satisfaction with radiosynoviorthesis.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2003, 26 radiosynoviortheses were done in 21 hemophilic patients; in 4 patients the treatment was repeated, and in 1 patient two joints were treated.

Sympathetic reinnervation after heart transplantation, assessed by iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging, and heart rate variability.

Objective: Complete allograft denervation occurs during heart transplantation. Partial ventricular sympathetic reinnervation may develop one year or later after transplantation and can be measured with iodine-123-meta-iodobenziylguanidine (MIBG) uptake. Aim of this study was to assess sinus node sympathetic reinnervation measured with heart rate variability and ventricular sympathetic reinnervation evaluated with MIBG.