Acute outflow obstruction of hepatic veins in rabbits: quantitative analysis of hepatic perfusion with contrast-enhanced sonography.

Objectives: To compare time-enhancement curve parameters of contrast-enhanced sonography in acute partial hepatic venous outflow obstruction with those of a baseline study.

Methods: Contrast-enhanced sonography was performed in 11 rabbits with bolus administration of a sulfur hexafluoride contrast agent (0.1 mL/kg).

Gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced liver MR imaging in cirrhotic patients: quantitative and qualitative comparison of 1-hour and 3-hour delayed images.

Purpose: To compare the image quality and diagnostic performance of 1- and 3-h delayed-phase MR images (DPIs) after gadobenate dimeglumine injection in detecting small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) in cirrhotic patients.

Materials And Methods: Relative enhancement of the liver (RE(liver) ) and HCC (RE(HCC) ) and liver-to-lesion contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of HCC were measured quantitatively on 1- and 3-h DPIs in 65 patients with 88 HCCs. For qualitative analysis, two radiologists independently evaluated three image sets in 19 patients with 25 HCCs ≤ 2 cm and in 16 controls without HCCs: conventional liver MR without DPI (set A), adding 1-h DPI (set B), and adding 3-h DPI (set C), using a 5-point scale for diagnosing small HCCs.

Medium-sized (3.1-5.0 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma: transarterial chemoembolization plus radiofrequency ablation versus radiofrequency ablation alone.

Purpose: This study was designed to retrospectively compare the effectiveness of combined transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with that of RFA alone in patients with medium-sized (3.1-5.0 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Hepatocellular carcinomas 2-3 cm in diameter: transarterial chemoembolization plus radiofrequency ablation vs. radiofrequency ablation alone.

Objective: There is debate whether transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is more effective than RFA alone in the treatment of patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We therefore retrospectively compared these treatments in patients with HCCs of diameter 2-3 cm.

Materials And Methods: Outcomes, including tumor progression, survival rates, and major complications, were compared in 83 patients (83 tumors) treated with combined TACE and RFA and in 231 patients (231 tumors) treated with RFA alone.

Radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Objective: We present the results of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with unresectable primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Materials And Methods: From 2000 to 2009, 13 patients with 17 primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas underwent RFA at our institution. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma was unresectable because of poor hepatic reserve due to liver cirrhosis in nine patients, extrahepatic extension in two, atrophy of the left hepatic lobe in one, and underlying comorbidities in one.

Focal nodular hyperplasia or focal nodular hyperplasia-like lesions of the liver: a special emphasis on diagnosis.

Background And Aim: Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) and FNH-like lesions are hypervascular masses that can mimic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have investigated the clinical, radiological and pathological features of FNH and FNH-like lesions of the liver, with particular focus on the aspect of diagnosis.

Methods: A total of 84 patients, 77 with pathologically-proven FNH and seven with FNH-like lesions of the liver, were analyzed retrospectively.

Biopsy-proven nonsteatotic liver in adults: estimation of reference range for difference in attenuation between the liver and the spleen at nonenhanced CT.

Purpose: To establish the reference range for hepatic attenuation minus splenic attenuation difference (CT(L-S)) values on nonenhanced computed tomographic (CT) images obtained in adults with a biopsy-proved nonsteatotic liver and determine the CT(L-S) criterion for diagnosing hepatic steatosis.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was institutional review board approved, and all subjects had provided written informed consent. The CT(L-S) was measured in 315 liver donor candidates (207 men, 108 women; mean age, 31.

Evaluation of metabolic characteristics and viability of lipiodolized hepatocellular carcinomas using 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Unlabelled: This study aimed to evaluate the metabolic characteristics of lipiodolized hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and the diagnostic accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in assessing the viability of lipiodolized HCCs.

Methods: Thirty-six patients (age range, 32-73 y) with 38 lipiodolized HCCs who had undergone transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with lipiodol before (18)F-FDG PET/CT (2-434 d) and 55 patients (age range, 36-77 y) with 57 treatment-naïve HCCs who had not been treated with TACE were retrospectively studied. All patients underwent hepatic lobectomy or transplantation within 1 mo after PET/CT and multiphasic contrast-enhanced CT.

Radiofrequency ablation for recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after curative resection.

Objective: Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has shown efficacy in patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma, but has not been well documented in patients with recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). We therefore evaluated the long-term survival and safety of percutaneous RFA for patients with recurrent ICC after curative resection.

Materials And Methods: A total of 20 patients with 29 recurrent ICCs underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA.

Release kinetics and in vitro bioactivity of basic fibroblast growth factor: effect of the thickness of fibrous matrices.

In this study, we fabricated non-woven matrices using blends of polycaprolactone and gelatin with various spinning volumes to control the immobilized heparin content, which was ultimately intended to increase the immobilization efficiency of bFGF. The amount of bFGF on the heparin conjugated fibrous matrices depended on the thicknesses of the swollen matrices ranging from 35.4 ± 6.

Computed tomography appearance of ovarian cysts with hyperenhancing rim during the menstrual cycle in women of different ages.

Objective: To determine the frequency and computed tomography (CT) characteristics of ovarian cysts in women of different ages.

Methods: Five hundred ninety-five contrast-enhanced CT studies performed in 430 females aged 10 or older between January 2001 and December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. For each study, we recorded the presence of ovarian cysts larger than 5 mm in diameter, with or without a hyperenhancing rim (HR, NR).

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Follicular dendritic cells (FDC) are non-lymphoid, non-phagocytic accessory cells of the immune system and these cells are essential for antigen presentation and regulation of the reactions in germinal centers. Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is a rare neoplasm that shows a low-to-intermediate malignant potential. The most commonly involved sites are the lymph nodes, but FDCS may also occur at a variety of extranodal sites, including the oral cavity, tonsils, gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Right lobe estimated blood-free weight for living donor liver transplantation: accuracy of automated blood-free CT volumetry--preliminary results.

Purpose: To determine the relative accuracy of automated blood-free to blood-filled computed tomographic (CT) volumetry for estimation of right-lobe weight in living donor liver transplantation.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board; informed consent was waived. Between October 1, 2008, and April 30, 2009, 88 live liver donors (54 men, 34 women; mean age, 26.

What factors are related to delayed treatment in individuals at high risk for psychosis?

Background: Previous studies have shown that the individuals at high risk for psychosis suffer from depression, anxiety, and deficits in social functioning. The present report describes help-seeking behaviours, baseline psychopathology, and duration of attenuated psychotic symptoms (DUAPS) and their associations with other variables.

Methods: Using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS), we conducted systematic evaluations of individuals at high risk for psychosis.

A descriptive study of pathways to care of high risk for psychosis adolescents in Korea.

Aim: To cut down on the time of untreated psychosis it is necessary to know the pathways to care of patients. We designed this study to examine patients' help seeking contacts. There have only been a few studies in developing countries examining the pathways to care, and this research is the first of its kind in Korea focusing on adolescents.

CT colonography after metallic stent placement for acute malignant colonic obstruction.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of using computed tomographic (CT) colonography for preoperative examination of the proximal colon after metallic stent placement in patients with acute colon obstruction caused by colorectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained, and patient informed consent was waived. Fifty patients (mean age +/- standard deviation, 58.

In situ forming hydrogels based on tyramine conjugated 4-Arm-PPO-PEO via enzymatic oxidative reaction.

Over the past decades, hydrogels have been widely studied as biomaterials for various biomedical applications like implants, drugs and cell delivery carriers because of their high biocompatibility, high water contents and excellent permeability for nutrients and metabolites. Especially, in situ forming hydrogel systems have received much attention because of their easy application based on minimal invasive techniques. Chemical cross-linking systems fabricated using enzymatic reactions have various advantages, such as high biocompatibility and easy control of reaction rates under mild condition.

Influence of preoperative portal hypertension and graft size on portal blood flow velocity in recipient after living donor liver transplantation with right-lobe graft.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the range of portal blood flow velocity at Doppler sonography of recipients without major complications after right-lobe living donor liver transplantation and to explore factors affecting portal blood flow velocity.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-one patients (59 men, 12 women; mean age, 48.1 +/- 8.

Development of a Decision Support Model for Screening Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with Actigraph-based Measurements of Classroom Activity.

Objective: Questionnaire-based ADHD screening tests may not always be objective or accurate, owing to both subjectivity and prejudice. Despite attempts to develop objective measures to characterize ADHD, no widely applicable index currently exists. The principal aim of this study was to develop a decision support model for ADHD screening by monitoring children's school activities using a 3-axial actigraph.

Increase of modified retrograde to antegrade flow ratio on doppler ultrasounds of the hepatic vein indicating tricuspid regurgitation during follow-up of liver transplantation: correlation with echocardiographic results.

The purpose of this study was to explore the best parameter of hepatic vein (HV) Doppler ultrasounds (DUS) that correlated with echocardiographic findings of and particularly the optimal cutoff value for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) following liver transplantation (LT). Thirty-six patients underwent echocardiography and DUS after LT from January 2006 to July 2007. Echocardiographic records were searched for TR grade and peak velocity of TR flow.

Right hepatic vein stenosis at anastomosis in patients after living donor liver transplantation: optimal Doppler US venous pulsatility index and CT criteria--receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Purpose: To establish optimal Doppler ultrasonographic (US) venous pulsatility index and computed tomographic (CT) criteria for right hepatic vein (RHV) stenosis after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to compare accuracies of these methods by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was approved by an institutional review board; informed consent was waived. Eighty patients (48 men, 32 women; mean age, 51.