Cardiovascular Disease, Brain Glucose Metabolism, and Neurocognitive Decline in People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and neuroinflammation are thought to exacerbate neurocognitive dysfunction in treated people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH). Here, we longitudinally measured brain glucose metabolism as a measure of neuronal integrity in treated PWH using [F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in correlation with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) scores, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuroinflammatory markers, neurocognitive outcomes, and other clinical and laboratory variables (CLVs).

Methods: Well-controlled PWH (n = 36) underwent baseline and follow-up FDG PET/CT obtained 3.

The kidney imaging surveillance scoring system (KISSS): using qualitative MRI features to predict growth rate of renal tumors in patients with von-Hippel Lindau (VHL) syndrome.

Objective: To determine the reliability of an MRI-based qualitative kidney imaging surveillance scoring system (KISSS) and assess which imaging features predict growth rate (GR) of renal tumors in patients with VHL.

Materials And Methods: We identified 55 patients with VHL with 128 renal tumors who underwent intervention from 2015 to 2020 at the National Cancer Institute. All patients had 2 preoperative MRIs at least 3 months apart.

Immune Effects of Cryoablation in Woodchuck Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objectives: Local and systemic immune responses evoked by locoregional therapies such as cryoablation are incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to characterize cryoablation-related immune response and the capacity of immune drugs to augment immunity upon cryoablation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a woodchuck hepatocellular carcinoma model.

Materials And Methods: Twelve woodchucks chronically infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus and with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent imaging with contrast-enhanced CT.

Smartphone Augmented Reality Outperforms Conventional CT Guidance for Composite Ablation Margins in Phantom Models.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate a smartphone augmented reality (AR) system for a large 50-mm liver tumor ablation with treatment planning for composite overlapping ablation zones.

Materials And Methods: A smartphone AR application was developed to display tumor, probe, projected probe paths, ablated zones, and real-time percentage of the ablated target tumor volume. Fiducial markers were attached to phantoms and an ablation probe hub for tracking.

Communication of patients' and family members' ethical concerns to their healthcare providers.

Background: Little is known about communication between patients, families, and healthcare providers regarding ethical concerns that patients and families experience in the course of illness and medical care. To address this gap in the literature, we surveyed patients and family members to learn about their ethical concerns and the extent to which they discussed them with their healthcare providers.

Methods: We surveyed adult, English-speaking patients and family members receiving inpatient care in five hospitals in the Washington DC-Baltimore metropolitan area from July 2017 to March 2020.

Imaging and Pathologic Evaluation of Cryoablation of Woodchuck () Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

We characterized cryoablation as a mode of clinical intervention in adult woodchucks with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Woodchucks ( = 4) were infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus at birth and developed LI-RADS-5 hypervascular HCC. At 21 mo of age, they underwent ultrasound (US), contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) imaging, and US-guided subtotal cryoablation (IcePearl 2.

Effect of exposure to ionizing radiation on competitive proliferation and differentiation of hESC.

Purpose: We studied the effects of computed tomography (CT) scan irradiation on proliferation and differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). It was reported that hESC is extremely radiosensitive; exposure of hESC in cultures to 1 Gy of ionizing radiation (IR) results in massive apoptosis of the damaged cells and, thus, they are eliminated from the cultures. However, after recovery the surviving cells proliferate and differentiate normally.

Comparative analysis of the immune response to RFA and cryoablation in a colon cancer mouse model.

The immune response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation (CRA) was characterized and compared in a colon cancer mouse model. All studies were conducted under a research protocol approved by the National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, Animal Care and Use Committee. BALB/cJ mice were inoculated with CT26 cells, and randomized to RFA, CRA, or sham treatment.

Role of ultra-high b-value DWI in the imaging of hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC).

Purpose: Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC) syndrome is associated with an aggressive form of renal cell carcinoma with high risk of metastasis, even in small primary tumors with unequivocal imaging findings. In this study, we compare the performance of ultra-high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequence (b = 2000 s/mm) to standard DWI (b = 800 s/mm) sequence in identifying malignant lesions in patients with HLRCC.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients (n = 18 HLRCC patients with 22 lesions, n = 10 controls) were independently evaluated by three abdominal radiologists with different levels of experience using four combinations of MRI sequences in two separate sessions (session 1: DWI with b-800, session 2: DWI with b-2000).

An MRI-based radiomics model to predict clear cell renal cell carcinoma growth rate classes in patients with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

Purpose: Upfront knowledge of tumor growth rates of clear cell renal cell carcinoma in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL) patients can allow for a more personalized approach to either surveillance imaging frequency or surgical planning. In this study, we implement a machine learning algorithm utilizing radiomic features of renal tumors identified on baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in VHL patients to predict the volumetric growth rate category of these tumors.

Materials And Methods: A total of 73 VHL patients with 173 pathologically confirmed Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCCs) underwent MRI at least at two different time points between 2015 and 2021.

PET imaging of TSPO expression in immune cells can assess organ-level pathophysiology in high-consequence viral infections.

Ebola virus (EBOV) disease is characterized by lymphopenia, breach in vascular integrity, cytokine storm, and multiorgan failure. The pathophysiology of organ involvement, however, is incompletely understood. Using [18F]-DPA-714 positron emission tomography (PET) imaging targeting the translocator protein (TSPO), an immune cell marker, we sought to characterize the progression of EBOV-associated organ-level pathophysiology in the EBOV Rhesus macaque model.

Fully Automated Abdominal CT Biomarkers for Type 2 Diabetes Using Deep Learning.

Background CT biomarkers both inside and outside the pancreas can potentially be used to diagnose type 2 diabetes mellitus. Previous studies on this topic have shown significant results but were limited by manual methods and small study samples. Purpose To investigate abdominal CT biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus in a large clinical data set using fully automated deep learning.

Mitapivat increases ATP and decreases oxidative stress and erythrocyte mitochondria retention in a SCD mouse model.

Polymerization of deoxygenated sickle hemoglobin (HbS) leads to erythrocyte sickling. Enhancing activity of the erythrocyte glycolytic pathway has anti-sickling potential as this reduces 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) and increases ATP, factors that decrease HbS polymerization and improve erythrocyte membrane integrity. These factors can be modulated by mitapivat, which activates erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (PKR) and improves sickling kinetics in SCD patients.

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography-Based Spatial Prediction of Drug Dose After Transarterial Chemoembolization Using Radiopaque Drug-Eluting Beads in Woodchuck Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to develop a model to estimate drug dose delivered to tumors after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with radiopaque drug-eluting beads (DEBs) based on DEB density on cone-beam computed tomography (CT) and to evaluate drug penetration into tissue in a woodchuck hepatoma model.

Materials And Methods: Transarterial chemoembolization was performed in woodchucks with hepatocellular carcinoma (N = 5) using DEBs (70-150 μm, LC Bead LUMI) loaded with doxorubicin. Livers were resected 45 minutes after embolization, immediately frozen, and cut using liver-specific, 3D-printed sectioning molds.

Evaluation of immune-modulating drugs for use in drug-eluting microsphere transarterial embolization.

Cancer immunotherapy has yet to reach its full potential due in part to limited response rates and side effects inherent to systemic delivery of immune-modulating drugs. Local administration of immunotherapy using drug-eluting embolic (DEE) microspheres as drug delivery vehicles for direct infusion into tumor-feeding arteries might increase and prolong tumor drug concentrations and reduce systemic drug exposure, potentially improving the risk-to-benefit ratio of these agents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of four immune modulators affecting two different immune pathways to potentiate replication of immune cells from a woodchuck model of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Resource Limitation and "Forced Irremediability" in Physician-Assisted Deaths for Nonterminal Mental and Physical Conditions: A Survey of the US Public.

Background: Physician-assisted death (PAD) for people with nonterminal illnesses (PAD-NT) is a controversial practice legal in some countries and increasingly debated in others, including the United States. A major concern about legalization of PAD-NT is that a lack of resources may drive some with mental illnesses or physical disabilities to seek PAD.

Objective: To assess US public opinion on PAD-NT under conditions of resource limitation.

Woodchuck Hepatic Anatomy and Vascular Alterations Due to Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Angiographic Atlas of the Abdomen and Pelvis.

Purpose: To characterize the hepatic and abdominal angiographic anatomy of woodchucks and vascular changes associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-nine woodchucks (23 with viral-associated HCC, 6 without) underwent multiphasic computed tomography (CT). Fourteen woodchucks (8 with HCC) also underwent diagnostic angiography.

Sporadic Primary Pheochromocytoma: A Prospective Intraindividual Comparison of Six Imaging Tests (CT, MRI, and PET/CT Using Ga-DOTATATE, FDG, F-FDOPA, and F-FDA).

. Recent professional society guidelines for radionuclide imaging of sporadic pheochromocytoma (PHEO) recommend F-fluorodihydroxyphenylala-nine (F-FDOPA) as the radiotracer of choice, deeming Ga-DOTATATE and FDG to be second- and third-line agents, respectively. An additional agent, F-fluorodopamine (F-FDA), remains experimental for PHEO detection.