Evaluation of body composition and bone mineral density in patients with and without idiopathic condylar resorption of temporomandibular disorders by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Background/purpose: The impact of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osseous destruction on bone mineral density (BMD) remains unclear due to controversial findings. Besides, no previous study has explored the relationship between idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR) and body composition. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ICR and BMD or body composition.

Changes in Posttreatment Spleen Volume Associated with Immunotherapy Outcomes for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: We investigated whether spleen volume (SV) changes were associated with treatment outcomes in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who received immunotherapy or first-line sorafenib.

Patients And Methods: Patients with advanced HCC who underwent immunotherapy or first-line sorafenib at our institute were retrospectively analyzed. CT was used to measure SV before and within 3 months of treatment initiation.

Ultrasound characteristics of soft tissues near sacroiliac joints and in the lumbar region of patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Aims: To investigate the musculoskeletal morphomechanical properties (i.e., the thickness and elastic modulus) and the total count of power Doppler signals near the sacroiliac joints in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-AS individuals.

PET/MRI in Endometrial Cancer: Imaging Biomarkers are Associated with Disease Progression and Overall Survival.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the association between positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers and survival outcomes in patients with endometrial cancer.

Materials And Methods: Between April 2014 and April 2016, 88 patients with newly diagnosed endometrial cancer participated this prospective study and underwent [F] fluorodeoxyglucose PET/MRI. Sixty-nine patients with measurable tumors on PET/MRI were included in the image analysis.

High-Level Spinal Cord Injury and the Failure of US Acute Rehabilitation: An Analysis and Commentary.

Acute and long-term morbidity and mortality rates have not changed in the United States for people with high-level spinal cord injury in 40 yrs, neither has the conventional invasive respiratory management for these patients. This is despite a 2006 challenge to institutions for a paradigm shift to avoid or decannulate patients of tracheostomy tubes. Centers in Portugal, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea decannulate high-level patients to up to continuous noninvasive ventilatory support and use mechanical insufflation exsufflation, as we have done and reported since 1990, but there has been no such paradigm shift in US rehabilitation institutions.

Kinematic magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of active motion of the mandibular condyle in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

Purpose: To explore the mandibular condylar movements in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders using kinematic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: We retrospectively recruited patients who were clinically diagnosed with internal derangement of the TMJ and referred to our center for MRI examination. The TMJ discs were categorized into normal disc (ND), anteriorly displaced disc (ADD), and disc with destruction (DD) groups using static images obtained in the closed-mouth view.

Sarcopenia and myosteatosis are associated with survival in patients receiving immunotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: To investigate the association of sarcopenia, myosteatosis, and sarcopenic obesity with survival outcomes among patients who underwent immunotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, patients who initiated immunotherapy for advanced HCC were enrolled. Sarcopenia and myosteatosis were evaluated on pretreatment CT at L3 level by skeletal muscle index and mean muscle attenuation using predefined cutoff values.

Muscle Microcirculatory Responses to Incremental Exercises Are Correlated with Peak Oxygen Uptake in Individuals With and Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

The role of impaired oxygen extraction on peak oxygen uptake (O) has been extensively studied using noninvasive and indirect methods in both diabetic patients and healthy participants. A total of 22 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM; median (range) age: 60 (47-70) years] and 22 controls [58 (52-69) years] with no history of diabetes were recruited (reference no. 201812135RINB).

Prediction of Mandibular Advancement Device Response Using CPAP Pressure in Different Polysomnographic Phenotypes.

Objective: Both continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) pressure and polysomnographic phenotypes have been associated with mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment response, but the precise relationship has not been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that utilizing CPAP pressure would predict the MAD response in treatment-naïve patients with moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and the MAD response would be associated with two polysomnographic phenotypes, including sleep stage dependency and positional dependency.

Methods: OSA treatment-naïve patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥15/h who declined CPAP treatment and received MAD treatment for 3-6 months were enrolled.

Predictors of changes in preoperative tumor stage between dynamic computed tomography and gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/purpose: Gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) has a higher diagnostic accuracy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than computed tomography (CT). However, indications for performing EOB-MRI after dynamic CT are not well defined. Therefore, we investigated the clinical factors associated with changes in the preoperative tumor stage between dynamic CT and EOB-MRI.

Early Changes in DCE-MRI Biomarkers May Predict Survival Outcomes in Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Sorafenib Failure: Two Prospective Phase II Trials.

In this paper, our main objective was to predict survival outcomes using DCE-MRI biomarkers in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after progression from 1st-line sorafenib treatment in two prospective phase II trials. This study included 74 participants (men/women = 64/10, mean age 60 ± 11.8 years) with advanced HCC who received 2nd-line targeted therapy ( = 41 with lenalidomide in one clinical trial; = 33 with axitinib in another clinical trial) after sorafenib failure from two prospective phase II studies.

Diagnostic Performance of Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and 18F-Fluorocholine PET to Differentiate Benign From Malignant Breast Lesions.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) PET for suspicious breast findings on conventional imaging (mammography and breast ultrasound).

Methods: From September 2012 to December 2015, 37 women with 39 breast lesions on conventional imaging were enrolled and underwent proton MRS and FCH PET. The MRS parameters of choline signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), choline integral (I(cho)), and the PET parameters including SUVmax in the prone (SUV1) and supine (SUV2) positions were analyzed.

Safety and Efficacy of Kartigen in Treating Cartilage Defects: A Randomized, Controlled, Phase I Trial.

Here, we aimed to investigate the safety and preliminary efficacy of Kartigen, a matrix with autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived chondrocyte precursors embedded in atelocollagen. As a surgical graft, Kartigen was implanted onto the cartilage defects at the weight-bearing site of the medial femoral condyle of the knee. Fifteen patients were enrolled and stratified into two groups, undergoing either Kartigen implantation ( = 10) or microfracture (control group, = 5).

Metabolic Alterations in Pancreatic Cancer Detected by In Vivo H-MR Spectroscopy: Correlation with Normal Pancreas, PET Metabolic Activity, Clinical Stages, and Survival Outcome.

Objective: To compare the metabolites of in vivo 1H- MRS in pancreatic cancer with normal pancreas, and correlate these metabolites with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) metabolic activity, clinical stages, and survival outcomes.

Methods: The prospective study included 58 patients (mean age 62.7 ± 12.

Lumbar Disc Herniation Automatic Detection in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based on Deep Learning.

Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is among the most common causes of lower back pain and sciatica. The causes of LDH have not been fully elucidated but most likely involve a complex combination of mechanical and biological processes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a tool most frequently used for LDH because it can show abnormal soft tissue areas around the spine.

Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced and Intravoxel Incoherent Motion MRI Biomarkers Are Correlated to Survival Outcome in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: This study assessed dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM DWI) parameters to prospectively predict survival outcomes in participants with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received lenalidomide, a dual antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory agent, as second-line therapy in a Phase II clinical trial.

Materials And Methods: Forty-four participants with advanced HCC who had progression after sorafenib as first-line treatment were prospectively enrolled. Pretreatment MRI parameters-obtained from DCE-MRI (peak, slope, AUC, K, K, and V), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and IVIM DWI (pure diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f))-were derived from the largest hepatic tumor.

Iodized oil computed tomography versus ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation for early hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Purpose: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the standard of care for early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the clinical outcomes of iodized oil computed tomography (IoCT) versus ultrasound (US)-guided RFA for HCC remain unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive treatment-naïve patients who received curative RFA for HCC within Milan criteria from January 2016 to December 2018.

Computed tomography-based sarcopenia in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis: Correlation with lean soft tissue and survival.

Background/purpose: We evaluated whether the results of the computed tomography (CT)-based sarcopenia assessment were correlated with edema-free lean soft tissue (LST) and were associated with the prognosis of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study and enrolled patients aged >20 years who started to undergo PD between February 2009 and February 2012. All patients underwent LST evaluation and non-contrast abdominal CT for assessing the total skeletal muscle (TSM) and psoas muscle (PM) indices at the level of the third lumbar vertebra.

Atelocollagen-Embedded Chondrocyte Precursors as a Treatment for Grade-4 Cartilage Defects of the Femoral Condyle: A Case Series with up to 9-Year Follow-Up.

We demonstrated the safety and efficacy of autologous chondrocyte precursor (CP) cell therapy in repairing Grade 4 cartilage defects of medial femoral condyles. The autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of each participant were isolated, amplified, and then differentiated into CPs in atelocollagen. Neotissues made of CPs were implanted into cartilage defects with an average cell density of 4.

Microcirculatory Responses to Muscle and Tendon Exercises in Individuals With and Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Association Between Microcirculatory and Exercise Performance.

This study aimed to measure and compare (1) the microcirculation and microcirculatory responses of the muscles and tendons at rest and during isometric muscle contractions in participants with and without diabetes mellitus (DM) and (2) to determine correlations between microcirculation and muscle strength. Sixty-three participants with type 2 DM and 42 physically matched controls were recruited. Baseline measurements of the microcirculation of the rectus femoris (RF) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles and patellar (PT) and Achilles tendons (AT), as well as their microcirculatory changes during maximal isometric exercises, were performed and recorded by using near-infrared spectroscopy and a red laser.

The Social Value of Improvement in Activities of Daily Living among the Advanced Parkinson's Disease Population.

Objectives: Quantify the value of functional status (FS) improvements consistent in magnitude with improvements due to levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) treatment, among the advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) population.

Methods: The Health Economic Medical Innovation Simulation (THEMIS), a microsimulation that estimates future health conditions and medical spending, was used to quantify the health and cost burden of disability among the APD population, and the value of quality-adjusted life-years gained from FS improvement due to LCIG treatment compared to standard of care (SoC). A US-representative Parkinson's disease (PD)-comparable cohort was constructed in THEMIS based on observed PD patient characteristics in a nationally representative dataset.

Prediction of Lumbar Disc Bulging and Protrusion by Anthropometric Factors and Disc Morphology.

The relationship between reduced disc height and disc bulging and/or protrusion has been controversial. The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between disc morphology and disc bulging and protrusion and to establish a model for predicting disc bulging and protrusion. This is a retrospective study.

Not all Sicca is Sjögren's and not all Sjögren's is Sicca.

Symptoms of dry eyes or dry mouth, otherwise known as sicca symptoms, are not always present in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Approximately 20% of patients with SS do not have sicca symptoms. An unusual case of a patient presenting with complete left-sided facial hemiparesis, a history of partial bilateral sensorineural hearing loss who was found to have elevated antinuclear antibody (ANA) with high titer positive SSA/Ro antibody, evidence of bilateral parotitis on imaging and absence of sicca symptoms, prompted us to perform a literature review.

An international expert opinion statement on the utility of PET/MR for imaging of skeletal metastases.

Background: MR is an important imaging modality for evaluating musculoskeletal malignancies owing to its high soft tissue contrast and its ability to acquire multiparametric information. PET provides quantitative molecular and physiologic information and is a critical tool in the diagnosis and staging of several malignancies. PET/MR, which can take advantage of its constituent modalities, is uniquely suited for evaluating skeletal metastases.