Double somatic mutations in and in an aldosterone-producing adenoma.

Double somatic mutations in and have recently been identified in a small subset of aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs). As a possible pathogenesis of APA due to these mutations, an association with pregnancy, menopause, or puberty has been proposed. However, because of its rarity, characteristics of APA with these mutations have not been well characterized.

Successful Balloon-Assisted Hepatic Tract Embolization Using the Pull-Through Technique to Remove a Malpositioned Chest Tube Penetrating the Liver and into the Right Ventricle.

Intra-abdominal injury is an uncommon complication of chest tube insertion. A 66-year-old man had empyema and underwent chest tube insertion for drainage. Massive hemorrhage occurred; the postprocedural radiograph showed the malpositioned chest tube in the mediastinum.

Successful non-operative management of traumatic extrahepatic portal venous injury without intraperitoneal hemorrhage: a case report.

Case: A 52-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with hypotension after falling from the fifth floor of an apartment building. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed liver injury with extravasation of contrast material from the hepatic artery, and extrahepatic portal venous injury with extravasation and pseudoaneurysm. Intra-abdominal hemorrhage was not observed, and bleeding was confined to the retroperitoneal space.

Solitary oropharyngeal neurofibroma: MR appearance with pathologic correlation and review of the literature.

Although neurofibroma is a common soft tissue tumor of the head and neck, neurofibroma of the oropharynx is extremely rare. Here, we report a case of neurofibroma of the palatine tonsil. Magnetic resonance imaging was useful in demonstrating the location of the tumor as well as its well-defined appearance.

Contrast behavior of high-spatial-resolution T1-weighted MR imaging at 3.0 T vs. 1.5 T.

Twenty-four volunteers were examined at T1-weighted images with thin sections using gradient-based sequences with a possible short and same TR at 3.0 and 1.5 T.

Comparison of gadolinium-EOB-DTPA-enhanced and diffusion-weighted liver MRI for detection of small hepatic metastases.

Objective: To compare the accuracy of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI with that of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in the detection of small hepatic metastases (2 cm or smaller).

Methods: Forty-five patients underwent abdominal MRI at 3 T, including T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), heavily T2WI (HASTE), DWI with a b-value of 500 s/mm(2) and contrast-enhanced MRI with Gd-EOB-DTPA. Two groups were assigned and compared: group A (T1WI, T2WI, HASTE and contrast-enhanced study with Gd-EOB-DTPA), and group B (T1WI, T2WI, HASTE and DWI).

Improved detection of hepatic metastases from pancreatic cancer using periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique after SPIO administration.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the detection of hepatic metastases from the pancreatic cancer using different MR imaging methods, including superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced fat-saturated T2-weighted imaging with periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this prospective study. Eighty-two patients (mean age, 55 years) underwent different MR imaging with a 1.

Non-contrast-enhanced hepatic MR angiography: do two-dimensional parallel imaging and short tau inversion recovery methods shorten acquisition time without image quality deterioration?

Objective: To study whether shortening the acquisition time for selective hepatic artery visualization is feasible without image quality deterioration by adopting two-dimensional (2D) parallel imaging (PI) and short tau inversion recovery (STIR) methods.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled. 3D true steady-state free-precession imaging with a time spatial labeling inversion pulse was conducted using 1D or 2D-PI and fat suppression by chemical shift selective (CHESS) or STIR methods.

Unenhanced MR portography with a half-Fourier fast spin-echo sequence and time-space labeling inversion pulses: preliminary results.

Objective: For this study, we aimed to selectively visualize the intrahepatic portal veins using 3D half-Fourier fast spin-echo (FSE) MR angiography (MRA) with a time-space labeling inversion pulse (T-SLIP) and to optimize the acquisition protocol.

Subjects And Methods: Respiratory-triggered 3D half-Fourier FSE scans were obtained in 25 healthy adult subjects combined with two different T-SLIPs: one placed on the liver and the thorax to suppress signals of the liver parenchyma, hepatic veins, and abdominal arteries and the other on the lower abdomen to suppress the ascending signal of the inferior vena cava. One of the most important factors was the inversion time (TI) of the inversion pulse for the liver and thorax.

Hepatic lesions: improved image quality and detection with the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction technique--evaluation of SPIO-enhanced T2-weighted MR images.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) technique for superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with respiratory compensation with the prospective acquisition correction (PACE) technique in the detection of hepatic lesions.

Materials And Methods: The institutional human research committee approved this prospective study, and all patients provided written informed consent. Eighty-one patients (mean age, 58 years) underwent hepatic 1.

Non-contrast-enhanced MR portography with time-spatial labeling inversion pulses: comparison of imaging with three-dimensional half-fourier fast spin-echo and true steady-state free-precession sequences.

Purpose: To compare and evaluate images acquired with two different MR angiography (MRA) sequences, three-dimensional (3D) half-Fourier fast spin-echo (FSE) and 3D true steady-state free-precession (SSFP) combined with two time-spatial labeling inversion pulses (T-SLIPs), for selective and non-contrast-enhanced (non-CE) visualization of the portal vein.

Materials And Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers were examined using half-Fourier FSE and true SSFP sequences on a 1.5T MRI system with two T-SLIPs, one placed on the liver and thorax, and the other on the lower abdomen.

Non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography for selective visualization of the hepatic vein and inferior vena cava with true steady-state free-precession sequence and time-spatial labeling inversion pulses: preliminary results.

Purpose: To selectively visualize the hepatic vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) using three-dimensional (3D) true steady-state free-precession (SSFP) MR angiography with time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (T-SLIP), and to optimize the acquisition protocol.

Materials And Methods: Respiratory-gated 3D true SSFP scans were conducted in 23 subjects in combination with two different T-SLIPs (one placed in the thorax to suppress the arterial signal and the other in the abdomen to suppress the portal venous signal). One of the most important factors was the inversion time (TI) of abdominal T-SLIP, and the image quality was evaluated at four different TIs of 800, 1200, 1600, and 2000 msec in terms of relative signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and mean visualization scores.

F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas mimicking malignancy.

Solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPTs), predominantly affecting young women, are rare pancreatic tumors. It is reported that imaging features of SPT are solid and cystic components, and there is intratumoral hemorrhage and calcification. However, findings of positron emission tomography (PET) using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) with pathologic correlation have not been fully evaluated.

High spatial resolution 3D MR cholangiography with high sampling efficiency technique (SPACE): comparison of 3T vs. 1.5T.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate image quality of 3D MR cholangiography (MRC) using high sampling efficiency technique (SPACE) at 3T compared with 1.5T.

Methods And Materials: An IRB approved prospective study was performed with 17 healthy volunteers using both 3 and 1.

Evaluation of motion correction effect and image quality with the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) (BLADE) and parallel imaging acquisition technique in the upper abdomen.

Purpose: To evaluate motion correction effect and image quality in the upper abdomen with the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) (BLADE) and parallel imaging acquisition technique.

Materials And Methods: A total of 50 consecutive patients underwent abdominal MR imaging. Fat-saturated T2-weighted turbo spin-echo sequences were obtained by respiratory triggering.

MRI artifact reduction and quality improvement in the upper abdomen with PROPELLER and prospective acquisition correction (PACE) technique.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER [BLADE in the MR systems from Siemens Medical Solutions]) with a respiratory compensation technique for motion correction, image noise reduction, improved sharpness of liver edge, and image quality of the upper abdomen.

Subjects And Methods: Twenty healthy adult volunteers with a mean age of 28 years (age range, 23-42 years) underwent upper abdominal MRI with a 1.5-T scanner.

High-spatial-resolution three-dimensional MR cholangiography using a high-sampling-efficiency technique (SPACE) at 3T: comparison with the conventional constant flip angle sequence in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: To evaluate the image quality of high-spatial-resolution three-dimensional magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) with a high-sampling-efficiency technique (sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolutions [SPACE]) in comparison with a conventional constant flip angle (FA) sequence at 3T.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen volunteers were examined on a 3T MR unit using MRC imaging performed with three different free-breathing three-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequences: 1) SPACE (spatial resolution, 1.1x1.

Contrast behavior and image quality of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography imaging using variable echo times at 3.0 T.

Twenty-five volunteers were examined at three different echo times (TE) using magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) images obtained with half-Fourier-acquired single-shot turbo spin echo (HASTE) thick-slab and multislice HASTE to identify the optimal TE at 3.0 T. No significant difference in the overall image quality was found comparing three different TEs within commonly used ranges.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients undergoing living-donor liver transplantation. Accuracy of multidetector computed tomography by viewing images on digital monitors.

Objective: To compare 8-detector row helical computed tomography (CT) findings with histopathology in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who had undergone living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Materials And Methods: This institutional review board-approved prospective study was performed between February 12, 2003 and November 12, 2004; of the 78 candidates for LDLT due to HCC who underwent preoperative multidetector CT (MDCT), 48 transplant recipients met our criteria and in 41 of them, HCCs were diagnosed with <15 lesions on MDCT; these patients represented the study population. Results of preoperative CT were correlated with histopathological results after 5-mm sagittal slicing of the explanted liver.

CT laparoscopy for detecting small superficial metastatic lesions of the liver surface: initial experience.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of CT laparoscopy in the detection of superficial metastasis of the liver surface.

Subjects And Methods: From April 1, 2007, to July 1, 2007, a total of 34 consecutively registered patients (19 men, 15 women; median age, 55 years) with various intraabdominal malignant tumors underwent preoperative CT and composed the study population. All patients underwent superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced MRI and portal phase contrast-enhanced 64-MDCT, including CT laparoscopy.

Non-contrast-enhanced hepatic MR angiography with true steady-state free-precession and time spatial labeling inversion pulse: optimization of the technique and preliminary results.

Objective: To selectively visualize the hepatic arteries using the respiratory-triggered three-dimensional (3D) true steady-state free-precession (SSFP) projection magnetic resonance angiographic sequence with time spatial labeling inversion pulse (T-SLIP), and describe the optimization of this protocol.

Materials And Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers were examined in this study. A respiratory-triggered 3D true SSFP combined with T-SLIP was performed.