Aims: To compare differences in dose to the target volume and organs at risk (OARs) for ring and tandem brachytherapy using individualised magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/computed tomography-based three-dimensional treatment plans for each application vs plans based on a single scan for all fractions.
Materials And Methods: The study was carried out in 10 patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix, treated with external beam radiotherapy and five fractions of high dose rate brachytherapy. Planning was carried out using MRI for the first fraction and computed tomography for each of the four subsequent fractions. The MRI-based plan was taken as the reference and the single-plan procedure was calculated by using the weights from the reference plan to calculate the dose distribution for each subsequent computed tomography-based plan. The high-risk clinical target volume (HRCTV) and OARs were delineated as per GEC-ESTRO guidelines. Total doses from external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy were summated and normalised to a 2 Gy fraction size.
Results: The mean D(90) for the HRCTV was 81.9 Gy when using one plan and 84 Gy when using individual treatment plans. Similarly, the mean D(2 cc) was 75.68 Gy vs 74.99 Gy for the bladder, 55.84 Gy vs 56.56 Gy for the rectum and 64.8 Gy vs 65.5 Gy for the sigmoid. Ring rotation was identified in three patients, resulting in a change in dwell positions, which otherwise could have led to either a high bladder dose or suboptimal coverage of the HRCTV.
Conclusions: Our study has shown that a single-plan procedure achieved acceptable dosimetry in most patients. However, the individualised plan improved dosimetry by accounting for variations in applicator geometry and the position of critical organs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2009.03.007 | DOI Listing |
Neurology
February 2025
Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Determining the level of consciousness in patients with brain injury-and more fundamentally, establishing what they can experience-is ethically and clinically impactful. Patient behaviors may unreliably reflect their level of consciousness: a subset of unresponsive patients demonstrate covert consciousness by willfully modulating their brain activity to commands through fMRI or EEG. However, current paradigms for assessing covert consciousness remain fundamentally limited because they are insensitive, rely on imperfect assumptions of functional neuroanatomy, and do not reflect the spectrum of conscious experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurology
February 2025
Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience, First Medical Faculty, General University Hospital and Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Background And Objectives: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may demonstrate better disease control when treatment is initiated on high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) from onset. This subgroup analysis assessed the long-term efficacy and safety profile of the high-efficacy DMT ocrelizumab (OCR) as first-line therapy for early-stage relapsing MS (RMS).
Methods: Post hoc exploratory analyses of efficacy and safety were performed in a subgroup of treatment-naive patients with RMS who received ≥1 dose of OCR in the multicenter OPERA I/II (NCT01247324/NCT01412333) studies.
Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown)
November 2024
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Health System, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Background And Objective: Transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) has revolutionized ablative treatment of essential tremor in recent years. However, limitations in precision targeting may account for suboptimal efficacy and significant side effects. We describe a simple intraprocedural three-dimensional image-guided lesion shaping technique that can improve overall outcomes of MRgFUS for essential tremor and facilitate expansion to novel indications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFASAIO J
January 2025
From the Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
The use of cardiac devices, including mechanical circulatory support (MCS), cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), and pacing wires, has increased and significantly improved survival in patients with severe cardiac failure. However, these devices are frequently associated with acute brain injuries (ABIs) including ischemic strokes, intracranial hemorrhages, seizures, and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury which contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the standard imaging modalities for ABI diagnosis, can pose significant challenges in this patient population due to the risks associated with patient transportation and the incompatibility of ferromagnetic components of certain cardiac devices with high magnetic field of the MRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiol Rev
January 2025
Departments of Cardiology and Medicine, New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY.
Right ventricular myocardial infarction (RVMI) is a significant and distinct form of acute myocardial infarction associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. It occurs most commonly due to proximal right coronary artery obstruction, often in conjunction with inferior myocardial infarction. RVMI poses unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to the anatomical and functional differences between the right and left ventricles.
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