Alterations in metabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex and thalamus and their associations with pain and empathy in patients with chronic mild pain: a preliminary study.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) has shown inconsistent alterations in the brain metabolites of individuals with chronic pain. We used 3T H-MRS to investigate the brain metabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex and thalamus of 22 patients with chronic mild pain and no gait disturbance and 22 healthy controls. The chronic-pain group included patients with chronic low back pain and/or osteoarthritis but none suffering from hypersensitivity.

The Lack of Alterations in Metabolites in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala, but Their Associations with Autistic Traits, Empathy, and Personality Traits in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Preliminary Study.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) has shown inconsistent alterations in brain metabolites of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated brain metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of 24 drug-naive adults with ASD and no intellectual disability and 24 non-ASD control subjects, using 3 T H-MRS. Adults with ASD showed no significant differences from control in glutamate, glutamate plus glutamine, N-acetylaspartate, glycerophosphorylcholine plus phosphorylcholine, creatine plus phosphocreatine, or myo-inositol in either region.

[Insufficiency fracture of the sacrum after hormonal therapy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer: A case in which 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy was useful for differential diagnosis].

A case in which radiotherapy was requested for bone metastases from prostate carcinoma after hormonal and radiation therapy and diagnosed as insufficiency fracture of the sacrum on bone scan was reported. A 78-year-old man underwent endocrine therapy with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonists and radical radiotherapy toward pelvis for prostate cancer. The onset of buttock pain started from the nine-month after the beginning of radiotherapy, and was diagnosed as sacrum metastasis by MRI, and radiotherapy was requested again for pain control.

[Development of picture and voice gated intermittent irradiation system connected without linear accelerator for voluntary breath-hold synchronized with respiration].

In patients with lung cancer of the lower lobes and liver cancer, treatment volume including respiratory motion is an important therapeutic problem. We developed a voluntary breath-hold system using pictures and voice messages so as to reduce the excessive safety margin that covers respiratory motion. The system consists of two sets of monitor and speaker, and a computer and software for control without direct connection to a linear accelerator.