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.

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 roles of lumbar load thresholds in cumulative lifting exposure to predict disk protrusion in an Asian population.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a specific threshold per lifting movement, the accumulation above which best predicts lumbar disk protrusion, exists or the total lifting load should be considered.

Methods: This was a retrospective study. Subjects with various lifting exposures were recruited.

Perfusion parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging predict outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma receiving radiotherapy with or without thalidomide.

Background: To correlate between signal parameters using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCEMRI) and outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving radiotherapy with or without concomitant thalidomide.

Methods: DCEMRI was performed in advanced HCC patients undergoing radiotherapy with or without concomitant thalidomide. Initial first-pass enhancement slopes (slope) and peak enhancement ratios (peak) were measured over an operator-defined region of interest over tumor and non-tumor liver parenchyma.

Neuromechanical characteristics in the knees of patients who had primary conservative treatment for a torn cruciate ligament and reconstruction afterward.

Background/purpose: To compare the neuromechanical characteristics and subjective outcomes for knees of patients with a cruciate ligament tear and reconstruction with those for knees of controls at three time intervals, and to determine correlations between the characteristics and subjective outcomes.

Methods: Ten participants with a cruciate ligament tear and at least a 12-week conservative treatment prior to ligament reconstruction were prospectively measured prior to and 3 months and 6 months after surgery. Ten healthy individuals were recruited as controls.

The dose-response relationship between cumulative lifting load and lumbar disk degeneration based on magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Background: Lumbar disk degeneration (LDD) has been related to heavy physical loading. However, the quantification of the exposure has been controversial, and the dose-response relationship with the LDD has not been established.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the dose-response relationship between lifetime cumulative lifting load and LDD.

Reduced bone mineral density among HIV-infected patients in Taiwan: prevalence and associated factors.

Background: Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is an emerging threat to the successful long-term management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among patients with access to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Data on the prevalence and associated factors of reduced BMD in Asian populations remain scarce.

Methods: From March 2002 to April 2006, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among HIV-infected patients aged ≥ 20 years at the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Integrin αvβ3-targeted dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging using a gadolinium-loaded polyethylene gycol-dendrimer-cyclic RGD conjugate to evaluate tumor angiogenesis and to assess early antiangiogenic treatment response in a mouse xenograft tumor model.

The purpose of this study was to validate an integrin αvβ3-targeted magnetic resonance contrast agent, PEG-G3-(Gd-DTPA)6-(cRGD-DTPA)2, for its ability to detect tumor angiogenesis and assess early response to antiangiogenic therapy using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Integrin αvβ3-positive U87 cells and control groups were incubated with fluorescein-labeled cRGD-conjugated dendrimer, and the cellular attachment of the dendrimer was observed. DCE MRI was performed on mice bearing KB xenograft tumors using either PEG-G3-(Gd-DTPA)6-(cRGD-DTPA)2 or PEG-G3-(Gd-DTPA)6-(cRAD-DTPA)2.

Osteonecrosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in Taiwan.

Osteonecrosis, a disabling complication associated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, has rarely been reported in an Asian population. After an observation of 3,250 person-years (PY), 11 of 967 (1.1%) HIV-infected patients at a median age of 34 years developed osteonecrosis involving the hip joints (incidence, 3.

Dynamic MRI signals in the second week of radiotherapy relate to treatment outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma: a preliminary result.

Aim: Radiotherapy (RT) has been used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in recent years. Despite its good local control, slow tumoral shrinkage and rapid recurrence compromise treatment outcomes. We evaluated the signal intensity of the hepatic parenchyma and tumours by using dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and correlated the findings with clinical outcomes.