Effect of a combination of pemafibrate and a mild low-carbohydrate diet on obese and non-obese patients with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease.

Background And Aim: Recently, pemafibrate and a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) have each been reported to improve fatty liver disease. However, it is unclear whether their combination improves fatty liver disease and is equally effective in obese and non-obese patients.

Methods: In 38 metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) patients, classified by baseline body mass index (BMI), changes in laboratory values, magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), and magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) were studied after 1 year of combined pemafibrate plus mild LCD.

Model-based Deep Learning Reconstruction Using a Folded Image Training Strategy for Abdominal 3D T1-weighted Imaging.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of folded image training strategy (FITS) and the quality of images reconstructed using the improved model-based deep learning (iMoDL) network trained with FITS (FITS-iMoDL) for abdominal MR imaging.

Methods: This retrospective study included abdominal 3D T1-weighted images of 122 patients. In the experimental analyses, peak SNR (PSNR) and structure similarity index (SSIM) of images reconstructed with FITS-iMoDL were compared with those with the following reconstruction methods: conventional model-based deep learning (conv-MoDL), MoDL trained with FITS (FITS-MoDL), total variation regularized compressed sensing (CS), and parallel imaging (CG-SENSE).

An Intra-individual Comparison between Free-breathing Dynamic MR Imaging of the Liver Using Stack-of-stars Acquisition and the Breath-holding Method Using Cartesian Sampling or View-sharing.

Purpose: To compare the quality of dynamic imaging between stack-of-stars acquisition without breath-holding (DISCO-Star) and the breath-holding method (Cartesian LAVA and DISCO).

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between October 2019 and February 2020. Two radiologists performed visual assessments of respiratory motion or pulsation artifacts, streak artifacts, liver edge sharpness, and overall image quality using a 5-point scale for two datasets: Dataset 1 (n = 107), patients with Cartesian LAVA and DISCO-Star; Dataset 2 (n = 41), patients with DISCO and DISCO-Star at different time points.

Semi-automated histogram analysis of normal bone marrow using F-FDG PET/CT: correlation with clinical indicators.

Background: F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is increasingly applied to the diagnosis of bone marrow failure such as myeloproliferative neoplasm, aplastic anemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome, as well as malignant lymphoma and multiple myeloma. However, few studies have shown a normal FDG uptake pattern. This study aimed to establish a standard of bone marrow FDG uptake by a reproducible quantitative method with fewer steps using deep learning-based organ segmentation.

Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score is predictive of prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy: a retrospective study.

We aimed to assess the predictive value of the modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). We retrospectively reviewed the records of 207 patients, with a median age of 79 years. The pretreatment mGPS was calculated and categorized as high (mGPS = 1-2) or low (mGPS = 0).

Texture Analysis in the Diagnosis of Primary Breast Cancer: Comparison of High-Resolution Dedicated Breast Positron Emission Tomography (dbPET) and Whole-Body PET/CT.

This retrospective study aimed to compare the ability to classify tumor characteristics of breast cancer (BC) of positron emission tomography (PET)-derived texture features between dedicated breast PET (dbPET) and whole-body PET/computed tomography (CT). Forty-four BCs scanned by both high-resolution ring-shaped dbPET and whole-body PET/CT were analyzed. The primary BC was extracted with a standardized uptake value (SUV) threshold segmentation method.

Tumor volume shrinkage during stereotactic body radiotherapy is related to better prognoses in patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between tumor volume changes during stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and prognoses in stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This retrospective review included stage I NSCLC patients in whom SBRT was performed at a total dose of 48.0-50.

Accelerated Acquisition of High-resolution Diffusion-weighted Imaging of the Brain with a Multi-shot Echo-planar Sequence: Deep-learning-based Denoising.

To accelerate high-resolution diffusion-weighted imaging with a multi-shot echo-planar sequence, we propose an approach based on reduced averaging and deep learning. Denoising convolutional neural networks can reduce amplified noise without requiring extensive averaging, enabling shorter scan times and high image quality. The preliminary experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed denoising method over state-of-the-art methods such as the widely used block-matching and 3D filtering.

Right Pulmonary Vein Atresia in a Mildly Symptomatic Boy: Comprehensive Analysis of Flow Dynamics Using Non-contrast-enhanced 4D Flow MR Imaging.

We present multimodal imaging in the rare case of isolated unilateral pulmonary vein atresia in a 6 year-old boy, including analysis of hemodynamics by magnetic resonance acquisition technique of time-resolved three-dimensional phase contrast imaging (4D flow magnetic resonance imaging). This novel imaging method enables the quantification and especially comprehensive visualization of blood flow patterns, even in complex congenital anomalies which abducted detailed assessment so far, and therefore constitutes a promising alternative to conventional vascular imaging techniques.

Clinical Evaluation of Respiratory-triggered 3D MRCP with Navigator Echoes Compared to Breath-hold Acquisition Using Compressed Sensing and/or Parallel Imaging.

Purpose: To compare the image quality of three-dimensional magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) acquired with respiratory triggering against breath-hold 3D MRCP with compressed sensing (CS) and parallel imaging (PI) in a clinical setting.

Methods: This study included 93 patients (45 men, mean age: 69.7 ± 9.

Renal Cancer is Not Radioresistant: Slowly but Continuing Shrinkage of the Tumor After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy for primary lesion of renal cell carcinoma with long-term and regular follow-up of tumor size and renal function.

Methods: This prospective study included 13 patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy for primary lesion of stage I renal cell carcinoma between August 2007 and June 2016 in our institution. Diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma was made by 2 radiologists using computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

Improving the Quality of Diffusion-weighted Imaging of the Left Hepatic Lobe Using Weighted Averaging of Signals from Multiple Excitations.

Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is useful for detecting and characterizing liver lesions but is sensitive to organ motion artifact, especially in the left lobe.

Purpose: To assess the signal intensity (SI) loss in the left hepatic lobe on DWI depending on motion-proving gradient (MPG) pulse direction (preliminary study) and to evaluate the usefulness of modified signal averaging to reduce the SI loss on DWI (application study).

Methods: About 48 (preliminary) and 35 (application) patients were included.

Construction of mass spectra database and diagnosis algorithm for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: Intraoperative identification of tumor margins is essential to achieving complete tumor resection. However, the process of intraoperative pathological diagnosis involves cumbersome procedures, such as preparation of cryosections and microscopic examination, thus requiring more than 30 min. Moreover, intraoperative diagnoses made by examining cryosections are occasionally inconsistent with postoperative diagnoses made by examining paraffin-embedded sections because the former are of poorer quality.

Magnetic resonance elastography is as accurate as liver biopsy for liver fibrosis staging.

Background: Liver MR elastography (MRE) is available for the noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis; however, no previous studies have compared the diagnostic ability of MRE with that of liver biopsy.

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of liver fibrosis staging between MRE-based methods and liver biopsy using the resected liver specimens as the reference standard.

Study Type: A retrospective study at a single institution.

Anatomy of the levator claviculae, with an overview and a literature survey.

We report here an anatomical study of the levator claviculae discovered during an anatomical dissection course for medical students. The muscle was identified on the left side, and followed a typical topography to previous detections, originating from the transverse process of the fourth cervical vertebra and attaching to the upper facet of the middle part of the clavicle. Innervation to this muscle came from both the third and fourth rami of the cervical spinal nerves.