Subendocardial ischemia: does CMD really exist?

Patients with angina but without obstructive epicardial coronary disease still require a specific mechanistic diagnosis to enable targeted treatment. The overarching term "coronary microvascular dysfunction" (CMD) has been applied broadly - but is it correct? We present a series of case examples culminating a systematic exploration of our large clinical database to distinguish among four categories of coronary pathophysiology. First, by far the largest group of "no stenosis angina" patients exhibits subendocardial ischemia during intact flow through diffuse epicardial disease during dipyridamole vasodilator stress.

Patch-Wise Deep Learning Method for Intracranial Stenosis and Aneurysm Detection-the Tromsø Study.

Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) and intracranial aneurysms are prevalent conditions in the cerebrovascular system. ICAS causes a narrowing of the arterial lumen, thereby restricting blood flow, while aneurysms involve the ballooning of blood vessels. Both conditions can lead to severe outcomes, such as stroke or vessel rupture, which can be fatal.

Comparing heart PET scans: an adjustment of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test under spatial autocorrelation.

The principle of independence is a fundamental yet often disregarded assumption in statistical inference. It is observed that the implications of correlations, if not considered, can lead to a conservative estimation of Type I error in the presence of positive linear correlations when utilizing the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test. Conversely, negative linear correlations may engender a liberal estimation of Type I error.

The cerebral and cognitive changes after intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) treatment for depression: study protocol for a randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial.

Background: The therapeutic use of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) is a relatively new but promising treatment option for depression. There is a need for more knowledge on the mechanisms involved in its antidepressant effects.

Methods: This is a single-centre, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with two arms, iTBS and sham iTBS.

Liposomal Nω-hydroxy-l-norarginine, a proof-of-concept: Arginase inhibitors can be incorporated in liposomes while retaining their therapeutic activity ex vivo.

Cancer immunotherapy has evolved significantly over the last decade, with therapeutics targeting the adaptive immune system showing exciting effects in clinics. Yet, the modulation of the innate immune system, particularly the tumor-associated innate immune cells which are an integral part of immune responses in cancer, remains less understood. The arginase 1 (Arg1) pathway is a pivotal metabolic pathway that tumor-associated innate immune cells exploit to create an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, leading to the evasion of immune surveillance.

Production of Cu at a biomedical cyclotron via Zn(p,α)Cu reaction and its evaluation in a preclinical study using small animal SPECT/CT.

Clinical advancements in nuclear medicine theranostics has excited a research interest in exploring novel radionuclides for medical use. The duo of the β emitter Cu and the positron emitter Cu, has advantages over the well-established clinical pair Ga and Lu in terms of capability for high-precision therapy. Low availability has hindered the use of Cu whereas Cu has become established at a limited number of sites through production in low-to-medium energy biomedical cyclotrons.

Radiosynthesis and preclinical evaluation of a Ga-labeled tetrahydroisoquinoline-based ligand for PET imaging of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 in an animal model of glioblastoma.

Background: This study aimed to develop a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, [Ga]Ga-TD-01, for CXCR4 imaging. To achieve this goal, the molecular scaffold of TIQ15 was tuned by conjugation with the DOTA chelator to make it suitable for Ga radiolabeling.

Methods: A bifunctional chelator was prepared by conjugating the amine group of TIQ15 with p-NCS-Bz-DOTA, yielding TD-01, with a high yield (68.

Cardiac Health Assessment Using a Wearable Device Before and After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Prospective Study.

Background: Due to aging of the population, the prevalence of aortic valve stenosis will increase drastically in upcoming years. Consequently, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures will also expand worldwide. Optimal selection of patients who benefit with improved symptoms and prognoses is key, since TAVI is not without its risks.

4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced oral epithelial lesions exhibit time- and stage-dependent changes in the tumor immune microenvironment.

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) is the most common cancer of the oral cavity and is associated with high morbidity due to local invasion and lymph node metastasis. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are associated with good prognosis in oral cancer patients and dictate response to treatment. Ectopic sites for immune activation in tumors, known as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), and tumor-associated high-endothelial venules (TA-HEVs), which are specialized lymphocyte recruiting vessels, are associated with a favorable prognosis in OSCC.

Phantom-Based Standardization Method for I-metaiodobenzylguanidine Heart-to-Mediastinum Ratio Validated by D-SPECT Versus Anger Camera.

: The I-metaiodobenzylguanidine heart-to-mediastinum ratios (HMRs) have been standardized between D-SPECT and Anger cameras in a small patient cohort using a phantom-based conversion method. This study aimed to determine the validity of this method and compare the diagnostic performance of the two cameras in a larger patient cohort. : We retrospectively calculated HMRs from early and late anterior-planar equivalent and planar images acquired from 173 patients in 177 studies using D-SPECT and Anger cameras, respectively.

Association between Dried Fruit Intake and DNA Methylation: A Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

Objectives: Observational studies have reported associations between dried fruit intake and DNA methylation(DNAm). However, inherent flaws in observational study designs make them susceptible to confounding and reverse causality bias. Consequently, it is unclear whether a causal association exists.

Traceable calibration with Lu and comparison of activity meters at hospitals in Norway and Sweden.

Introduction: The activity meter is used to determine the activity of delivered radiopharmaceuticals, administered activity to patients and reference activity when gamma-cameras are calibrated prior to imaged-based dosimetry. The aim is to describe a procedure for cross-calibration of activity meters at different clinical sites, and report on Lu activity results when using factory-set calibration factors compared to when calibration is performed with traceability to a primary standard.

Methods: Thirty activity meters placed at seven hospitals in Norway and Sweden from four manufacturers: Capintec, Commecer, NuviaTech and Veenstra were included.

A position-adaptive noise-reduction method using a deep denoising filter bank for dedicated breast positron emission tomography images.

Dedicated breast positron emission tomography (db-PET) is more sensitive than whole-body positron emission tomography and is thus expected to detect early stage breast cancer and determine treatment efficacy. However, it is challenging to decrease the sensitivity of the chest wall side at the edge of the detector, resulting in a relative increase in noise and a decrease in detectability. Longer acquisition times and injection of larger amounts of tracer improve image quality but increase the burden on the patient.

Prevalence of intracranial artery stenosis in a general population using 3D-time of flight magnetic resonance angiography.

Background: Data on prevalence of intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) in Western populations is sparse. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors for ICAS in a mainly Caucasian general population.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of ICAS in 1847 men and women aged 40 to 84 years who participated in a cross-sectional population-based study, using 3-dimensional time-of-flight 3 Tesla magnetic resonance angiography.

Liposomes - Human phagocytes interplay in whole blood: effect of liposome design.

Nanomedicine holds immense potential for therapeutic manipulation of phagocytic immune cells. However, in vitro studies often fail to accurately translate to the complex in vivo environment. To address this gap, we employed an ex vivo human whole-blood assay to evaluate liposome interactions with immune cells.

Deep Learning to Predict the Cell Proliferation and Prognosis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Based on FDG-PET/CT Images.

(1) Background: Cell proliferation (Ki-67) has important clinical value in the treatment and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, current detection methods for Ki-67 are invasive and can lead to incorrect results. This study aimed to explore a deep learning classification model for the prediction of Ki-67 and the prognosis of NSCLC based on FDG-PET/CT images.

The antidepressant effect of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS): study protocol for a randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial.

Background: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) when applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been shown to be equally effective and safe to treat depression compared to traditional repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) paradigms. This protocol describes a funded single-centre, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled, clinical trial to investigate the antidepressive effects of iTBS and factors associated with an antidepressive response.

Methods: In this trial, outpatients (N = 96, aged 22-65 years) meeting the diagnostic criteria for at least moderate depression (Montgomery and Aasberg Depression Rating Scale score ≥ 20) will be enrolled prospectively and receive ten, once-a-day sessions of either active iTBS or sham iTBS to the left DLPFC, localized via a neuronavigation system.