Clinical Value of PET/CT in Staging Melanoma and Potential New Radiotracers.

Background: 18F-FDG PET/CT has been suggested as an effective tool to stage patients affected by melanoma. In the latest years, new radiopharmaceuticals have been proposed and the use of hybrid PET/ceCT has emerged.

Objective: To review recent evidence on the role of PET/CT in melanoma staging as well as its potential for future developments.

The Monocle Sign in FDG-PET: A Sign of Contralateral Facial Nerve Palsy.

We report three cases of unilateral F-FDG uptake in the orbicularis oculi muscle in subjects with contralateral peripheral facial nerve palsy. We argue that this asymmetric uptake pattern in fact reflects lack of metabolism on the side affected by facial nerve palsy, owing to denervation. Since the unilateral periorbital uptake resembles a monocle, we chose to call this finding the monocle sign.

Access to Cancer Precision Medicines in Switzerland: A Comparative Analysis (USA and EU) and Health Policy Implications.

Social health insurance is mandatory in Switzerland and covers the costs of basic medical care. In general, with regard to medicines, the costs are only reimbursed if the drug is (1) approved by Swissmedic and (2) listed on the so-called Spezia-litätenliste (SL) by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). However, the SL does not include all drugs.

Alleviation of Intestinal Inflammation by Oral Supplementation With 2-Fucosyllactose in Mice.

Milk oligosaccharides exert a prebiotic action that contributes to the development of the infant gut microbiota during lactation. Given that milk oligosaccharides remain intact after passage through stomach and small intestine, they can potentially influence the composition of the gut microbiota when ingested as dietary supplements after weaning. To address the regulatory effects of specific oligosaccharides in colitis linked to the microbiota composition, we have supplemented interleukin-10 null ( ) mice with four fucosylated and sialylated oligosaccharides.

A RCT evaluating a pragmatic in-hospital service to increase the quality of discharge prescriptions.

Objective: To improve discharge prescription quality and information transfer to improve post-hospital care with a pragmatic in-hospital service.

Design: A single-centre, randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Internal medicine wards in a Swiss teaching hospital.

Impact of different image reconstructions on PET quantification in non-small cell lung cancer: a comparison of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective:: Positron emission tomography (PET) using F-fludeoxyglucose (F-FDG) is an established imaging modality for tumor staging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There is a growing interest in using F-FDG PET for therapy response assessment in NSCLC which relies on quantitative PET parameters such as standardized uptake values (SUV). Different reconstruction algorithms in PET may affect SUV.

Divergent LAG-3 versus BTLA, TIGIT, and FCRL3 expression in Sézary syndrome.

In Sézary syndrome (SS) impaired T-cell function and cytokine profile lead to immune evasion. Immune checkpoints non-redundantly regulate immune responses and targeting them is promising. We evaluated the expression of BTLA, CTLA-4, FCRL3, LAG-3, and TIGIT in tumor and non-tumor SS T-cells.

Use of MRI and FDG-PET/CT to predict fixation of advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma to prevertebral space.

Background: We evaluated the ability of different (18F)fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)-based and magnetic resonance (MR)-based parameters to identify prevertebral space (PVS) infiltration by hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: Retrospective study on 59 patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing cross-sectional imaging and triple endoscopy for staging.

Results: Obliteration of retropharyngeal fat plane on T1-weighted MR images was found more often (P < .

Improved Biodistribution and Extended Serum Half-Life of a Bacteriophage Endolysin by Albumin Binding Domain Fusion.

The increasing number of multidrug-resistant bacteria intensifies the need to develop new antimicrobial agents. Endolysins are bacteriophage-derived enzymes that degrade the bacterial cell wall and hold promise as a new class of highly specific and versatile antimicrobials. One major limitation to the therapeutic use of endolysins is their often short serum circulation half-life, mostly due to kidney excretion and lysosomal degradation.

Impact of a Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction algorithm on image quality in novel digital PET/CT: clinical implications for the assessment of lung tumors.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare PET image reconstruction algorithms on novel digital silicon photomultiplier PET/CT in patients with newly diagnosed and histopathologically confirmed lung cancer. A total of 45 patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT for initial lung cancer staging were included. PET images were reconstructed using ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) with time-of-flight and point spread function modelling as well as Bayesian penalized likelihood reconstruction algorithm (BSREM) with different β-values yielding a total of 7 datasets per patient.

Value of PET/MRI for assessing tumor resectability in NSCLC-intra-individual comparison with PET/CT.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI with PET/CT for determining tumor resectability of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Sequential trimodality PET/CT/MRI was performed in 36 patients referred with the clinical question of resectability assessment in NSCLC. PET/CT and PET/MR images including weighted sequence (-Dixon) and respiration gated weighted sequence (-Propeller) were evaluated for resectability-defining factors; longest diameter of the tumor, minimal tumor distance to the carina, mediastinal invasion, invasion of the carina, pleural infiltration, pericardial infiltration, diaphragm infiltration, presence of additional nodules.

Value of 18F-FET PET in Patients With Suspected Tumefactive Demyelinating Disease-Preliminary Experience From a Retrospective Analysis.

Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic value of F-fluoroethyl-L-tyrosine (FET) positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with suspected tumefactive demyelinating disease.

Methods: We retrospectively examined FET-PET and MR imaging of 21 patients (12 female, 9 male) with known demyelinating disease and newly diagnosed tumefactive lesions. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), time activity curves (TAC) and lesion-to-background ratio (TBR) of these lesions were calculated.

Development of a Novel Human Cell-Derived Tissue-Engineered Heart Valve for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: an In Vitro and In Vivo Feasibility Study.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is being extended to younger patients. However, TAVR-compatible bioprostheses are based on xenogeneic materials with limited durability. Off-the-shelf tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHVs) with remodeling capacity may overcome the shortcomings of current TAVR devices.

Pain-Associated Transcriptome Changes in Synovium of Knee Osteoarthritis Patients.

Joint pain causes significant morbidity in osteoarthritis (OA). The aetiology of joint pain in OA is not well understood. The synovial membrane as an innervated joint structure represents a potential source of peripheral pain in OA.

Challenges and needs in experimental therapies for multiple sclerosis.

Purpose Of Review: Despite dramatic advances in the treatment of people with multiple sclerosis over the last decade, several unmet medical needs still remain and should be approached with new compounds in experimental clinical trials. The prerequisites for successful clinical trials in multiple sclerosis have changed considerably over time and activities have started to improve clinical development of new drugs in several aspects including trial designs, patient selection and outcome parameters. This review will address some of the challenges in early experimental trials in multiple sclerosis and recent approaches in the field.

[F]Fluorocholine Uptake of Parathyroid Adenoma Is Correlated with Parathyroid Hormone Level.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between [F]fluoromethyl-dimethyl-2-hydroxyethylammonium ([F]FCh) positron emission tomography (PET) parameters, laboratory parameters, and postoperative histopathological results in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) due to parathyroid adenomas.

Procedures: This retrospective study was conducted in 52 patients with biochemically proven pHPT. [F]FCh-PET parameters (maximum standardized uptake value: SUV in early phase (after 2 min) and late phase (after 50 min), metabolic volume, and adenoma-to-background ratio (ABR), preoperative laboratory results (PTH and serum calcium concentration), and postoperative histopathology (location, size, volume, and weight of adenoma) were assessed.

BSREM Reconstruction for Improved Detection of In-Transit Metastases With Digital FDG-PET/CT in Patients With Malignant Melanoma.

Block sequential regularized expectation maximization (BSREM) is a Bayesian penalized-likelihood reconstruction algorithm for PET, which reaches full convergence without the detriment of deteriorating the image quality by noise. Therefore, BSREM might have implications particularly for the detection of small lesions, which may be beneficial in melanoma patients. Our case of a 70-year-old man with metastasized malignant melanoma illustrates the impact of such a novel iterative PET reconstruction algorithm.

Value of F-FET PET in adult brainstem glioma.

Purpose: To investigate F-fluoro-ethyl-tyrosine positron emission tomography (FET-PET) imaging characteristics of adult brainstem glioma (BSG).

Materials And Methods: FET-PET imaging and progression-free survival (PFS) of 16 adult patients with BSG was analyzed (9 high-grade gliomas, 7 low-grade gliomas). SUV, TBR, and time activity curves of FET-PET were calculated.

Reducing morbidity and complications after major head and neck cancer surgery: the (future) role of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols.

Purpose Of Review: To review the development and the benefits of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in non-head and neck disciplines and to describe early implementation efforts in major head and neck surgeries.

Recent Findings: Several groups have adopted ERAS protocols for major head and neck surgery and demonstrated its feasibility and effectiveness.

Summary: There is growing evidence that clinical and financial outcomes for patients undergoing major head and neck surgery rehabilitation can be significantly improved by standardizing preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative treatment protocols.

"Big Clinical Data" Analysis of Intravenous to Oral Conversions of Non-Antimicrobials.

Advantages of early intravenous (IV) to oral (PO) switches of antimicrobials are well known. Yet, little data have been published on reasonable IV-to-PO switches of other drug classes, although interventions to promote early IV-to-PO conversions may further increase patient safety and decrease costs. We therefore analyzed IV-to-PO switches of non-antimicrobials.

Iterative analysis of cerebrovascular reactivity dynamic response by temporal decomposition.

Objective: To improve quantitative cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) measurements and CO arrival times, we present an iterative analysis capable of decomposing different temporal components of the dynamic carbon dioxide- Blood Oxygen-Level Dependent (CO -BOLD) relationship.

Experimental Design: Decomposition of the dynamic parameters included a redefinition of the voxel-wise CO arrival time, and a separation from the vascular response to a stepwise increase in CO (Delay to signal Plateau - DTP) and a decrease in CO (Delay to signal Baseline -DTB). Twenty-five (normal) datasets, obtained from BOLD MRI combined with a standardized pseudo-square wave CO change, were co-registered to generate reference atlases for the aforementioned dynamic processes to score the voxel-by-voxel deviation probability from normal range.

Cytokine filtration modulates pulmonary metabolism and edema formation during ex vivo lung perfusion.

Background: Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) has improved the process of donor lung management. Cytokine accumulation during EVLP has been shown to correlate with worse outcome after lung transplantation. Our objective in this study was to test the safety and efficacy of cytokine filtration during EVLP in a large animal model.