Effect of Financial Incentives for Process, Outcomes, or Both on Cholesterol Level Change: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Financial incentives may improve health behaviors. It is unknown whether incentives are more effective if they target a key process (eg, medication adherence), an outcome (eg, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] levels), or both.

Objective: To determine whether financial incentives awarded daily for process (adherence to statins), awarded quarterly for outcomes (personalized LDL-C level targets), or awarded for process plus outcomes induce reductions in LDL-C levels compared with control.

The effect of herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases: a review of human clinical trials.

Herbs and spices are recommended to increase flavor and displace salt in the diet. Accumulating evidence suggests herbs and spices may improve risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. In this narrative review, an overview of evidence from human clinical trials examining the effect of herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases is provided.

Achieving Guideline-Driven High-Intensity Statin Dose in Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Purpose: The 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults recommends high-intensity statin therapy in patients aged ≤75 y with clinical coronary artery disease (CAD). The effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in lipid management and guideline adherence is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine whether CR participation affects guideline-driven achievement for statin use.

PCSK9 inhibitor therapy in homozygous familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 due to APOB R3500Q: A case report.

Identification of a patient homozygous for familial defective apolipoprotein B-100(FDB) and successful treatment with PCSK9 inhibition.

Accuracy of single-photon emission computed tomography in differentiating frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are the commonest causes of presenile dementia. In the absence of a biological marker, diagnosis is reliant on clinical evaluation. Confirmation is often sought from neuroimaging, including single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

A reverse perfusion pattern during Technetium-99m stress myocardial perfusion imaging does not predict flow limiting coronary artery disease.

Background: A reverse redistribution pattern during myocardial perfusion imaging is most widely described using thallium (Tl-201), when stress images exhibit greater perfusion than rest. Technetium (Tc-99 m) radiopharmaceuticals may also yield a reverse perfusion (RP) pattern, but its significance is uncertain. This study tested the hypothesis that RP correlates with the presence and location of flow limiting coronary stenosis(es).

Diagnostic patterns of regional atrophy on MRI and regional cerebral blood flow change on SPECT in young onset patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and vascular dementia.

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are the three most common causes of young onset dementias. Most neuroimaging studies of these disorders have involved comparisons with normal controls. The aims of this study were to examine the clinical diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (in combination and in isolation) in the differentiation of one form of dementia from another from amongst a group of AD, FTD and VaD.

The effect of diclofenac (voltarol) and pethidine on ureteric peristalsis and the isotope renogram.

Diclofenac (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and pethidine (a synthetic opiate) are the two analgesics most commonly used to relieve the pain of ureteric colic. Fast frame renography is a non-invasive means of imaging ureteric peristalsis and renal drainage. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of each of these drugs on the drainage pattern of the upper tracts.

Idiopathic bile acid malabsorption: qualitative and quantitative clinical features and response to cholestyramine.

Background: Idiopathic bile acid malabsorption is a poorly recognized cause of chronic diarrhoea. The SeHCAT (75Selenium HomotauroCholic Acid Test) can accurately diagnose this condition.

Aim: To identify patients with idiopathic bile acid malabsorption, to describe their clinical features, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and to assess the response to cholestyramine.

A clinical role for 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT in the investigation of dementia?

Objectives: To provide the clinician with a guide to the clinical utility of 99mTc-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and to the interpretation of specific test results in the differential diagnosis of dementia.

Methods: Three hundred and sixty three patients with dementia were studied prospectively for a median three (range 1-6) years and classified into disease groups on the basis of established clinical criteria. The degree to which different patterns of cerebral blood flow (CBF) abnormality found on 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT imaging at the time of initial patient presentation modified clinical diagnoses was determined by calculating the likelihood ratios for pairwise disease group comparisons.

A 99mTc-HMPAO single-photon emission computed tomography study of Lewy body disease.

The purpose of this study was to investigate patterns of 99mTc-HMPAO single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) abnormality in Lewy body disease (LBD) and to compare findings with those encountered in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study group comprised 20 consecutive patient referrals fulfilling clinical criteria for LBD. All patients had fluctuating cognitive impairment and 'subcortical' dysfunction with or without perceptuospatial and/or linguistic impairment.

The use of 99Tcm-Technegas in the investigation of patients with pulmonary thromboembolism.

Pulmonary embolism remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, being responsible for an estimated 200,000 deaths per annum in the USA and 21,000 per annum in the UK. Lung scintigraphy is in many instances the investigation of choice in suspected pulmonary thromboembolism. A normal perfusion lung scan excludes pulmonary embolism.

The contribution of single photon emission tomography to the clinical differentiation of degenerative cortical brain disorders.

The accurate clinical diagnosis of degenerative cortical brain disorders is a necessary prerequisite for patient management and the critical evaluation of new treatments. This study has evaluated the ability of single photon emission tomography (SPET) to differentiate between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and different forms of non-Alzheimer lobar atrophy (LA), using a multi-purpose system in widespread routine clinical use. 99mTc-HMPAO SPET was carried out in patients with AD and three clinical syndromes associated with LA: frontotemporal dementia (FTD), progressive non-fluent aphasia (PA) and semantic dementia (SD).

The value of SPET imaging in dementia.

This review critically evaluates the current role of single photon emission tomography (SPET) imaging in the clinical management of patients with dementia. The classification of the dementias is discussed and the clinical and pathological features of the various dementing illnesses are described. Typical appearances on cerebral blood flow imaging are presented for each of the conditions, together with the findings on D2 dopaminergic receptor and muscarinic receptor imaging where this is relevant.

Inter-relation between "classic" motor neuron disease and frontotemporal dementia: neuropsychological and single photon emission computed tomography study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible association between "classic" motor neuron disease (cMND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), using neuropsychological evaluation and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Psychological tests assessing language, perceptuospatial, memory, and "frontal lobe" functions were given to patients with cMND and test scores were compared with those of normal control subjects. 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT was performed on patients with cMND, FTD and motor neuron disease (FTD/MND), FTD alone, and normal control subjects.

Texture analysis of technegas lung ventilation images.

Technegas lung ventilation images sometimes have 'hot spots', particularly in patients with respiratory disease. A novel technique is presented for quantifying this 'spottiness' using morphological texture analysis. A set of 32 images from patients with various respiratory diseases is studied.

Imaging techniques in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection.

In terms of future morbidity and mortality, one of the most important considerations in urinary tract infection is the age of the patient. In adults, only those with complications or illnesses that fail to respond to treatment require investigation to exclude underlying pathology. In contrast, the young are at risk of future hypertensive and renal disease; imaging techniques are therefore of paramount importance to identify those with renal parenchymal disease at an early stage and permit appropriate and adequate treatment.

Choice of reference region in the quantification of single-photon emission tomography in primary degenerative dementia.

This study evaluated the effect of using two different reference regions in the quantification of single-photon emission tomography (SPET). SPET scans of 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 30 patients with frontotemporal dementia were compared with the scans of ten age-matched controls. Regions of interest (ROIs) were defined on transaxial slices by a semi-automatic method.

Angiotensin II as a risk factor for cyclosporin nephrotoxicity in patients with psoriasis.

Abnormalities of the renin-angiotensin system after low-dose cyclosporin (5 mg/kg/day or less) have not been adequately defined in patients with normal kidneys. 27 patients with psoriasis were assessed before starting cyclosporin, after three months of cyclosporin (5 mg/kg/day or less) and then finally three months after finishing cyclosporin. On each occasion plasma renin activity (PRA), aldosterone, angiotensin II and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured together with total renal blood flow (RBF), GFR and filtration fraction (FF) following an i.

The influence of inhalation technique on Technegas particle deposition and image appearance in normal volunteers.

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of inhalation technique on Technegas image quality and on fractional particle deposition. This was investigated in six normal volunteers using three different types of breathing pattern. Fractional deposition was determined by analysis of dynamic gamma camera images acquired during Technegas administration.

Condylar hyperplasia: correlation of histological and scintigraphic features.

Scintigaphy using 99mTc-MDP is widely advocated as a method of diagnosis and presurgical assessment of patients with condylar hyperplasia. A previous study has demonstrated that hyperplasia of the mandibular condyle is characterized histologically by the presence of an uninterrupted layer of undiffentiated germinative mesenchyme cells, a layer of hypertrophic cartilage and the presence of islands of chondrocytes in the subchondral trabecular bone. This study was undertaken to determine whether there was any association between the degree of 99mTc-MDP uptake and the histological features of condylar hyperplasia.

Altered clearance of N-1 methylnicotinamide associated with the use of low doses of cyclosporine.

To improve the monitoring of patients on low doses of cyclosporine there is a need for new tests of tubular function. N-1 methylnicotinamide (NMM) is an endogenous organic cation that is secreted by the proximal tubule and its clearance can be measured. In 27 patients with psoriasis, serial measurements of NMN clearance, plasma aldosterone, plasma chloride, bicarbonate, and magnesium were compared with changes in the radionuclide measurement of glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow before, during, and after a 3-month course of low-dose cyclosporine (< 5 mg/kg/d).

Interrelationship between serum concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone and renal haemodynamics after low dose cyclosporin.

It is unclear whether cyclosporin A (CsA) alters the synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D] by the normal human kidney. Serial changes in 1,25(OH)2D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), GFR and renal blood flow were compared in 14 patients with psoriasis who were being treated with less than 5 mg/kg/day of cyclosporin for 3 months. GFR fell significantly although there were no significant changes in serum 1,25(OH)2D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D or PTH.

Non-invasive investigation of normal individual ureteric activity in man.

This study was designed to investigate non-invasively human ureteric function between individuals and with increasing diuresis, using the radioisotope compressed image technique. Five normal males underwent fast frame renography with ureteric spindle imaging in dehydrated and hydrated states, urine production being measured in each individual for each scan. Urine flow rates and renographic parameters demonstrated that each ureter carried more urine in the hydrated state.