Effect of epidural corticosteroid injection on magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine is the preferred diagnostic tool for pathologic conditions affecting the spine. However, in patients receiving epidural corticosteroid injection (ESI) for treatment of spinal diseases, there is a possibility of misreading of MR images because of air or fluid in the epidural space after the injection. Therefore, we defined the characteristics of abnormal changes in MRI findings following an ESI in patients with low back pain.

Microbiological diversity and prevalence of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in commercial fermented alcoholic beverages (beer, fruit wine, refined rice wine, and yakju).

The present study examined 469 commercially available fermented alcoholic beverages (FABs), including beer (draft, microbrewed, and pasteurized), fruit wine (grape and others), refined rice wine, and yakju (raw and pasteurized). Samples were screened for Escherichia coli and eight foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica), and the aerobic plate count, lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, fungi, and total coliforms were also enumerated.

Dynamic CT perfusion imaging for the detection of crossed cerebellar diaschisis in acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: Although the detection of crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) by means of different imaging modalities is well described, little is known about its diagnosis by computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging. We investigated the detection rate of CCD by CTP imaging and the factors related to CCD on CTP images in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Materials And Methods: CT perfusion maps of cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), and time-to-peak (TTP) obtained from 81 consecutive patients affected by an acute ischemic stroke were retrospectively reviewed.

Alteration of the glutamate and GABA transporters in the hippocampus of the Niemann-Pick disease, type C mouse using proteomic analysis.

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a fatal autosomal recessive cholesterol disorder characterized by severe progressive neurodegeneration. To unveil the mechanism of neurodegeneration, proteomic and morphological approaches were applied to the hippocampus in NPC -/- mouse. Two-DE was utilized to resolve the hippocampal protein expression profiles of 4- and 8-week-old NPC +/+ and -/- mice.