Quantification of myocardial fibrosis using noninvasive T2-mapping magnetic resonance imaging: Preclinical models of aging and pressure overload

Noninvasive imaging of cardiac fibrosis is important for early diagnosis and intervention in chronic heart diseases. Here, we investigated whether noninvasive, contrast agent-free MRI T₂-mapping can quantify myocardial fibrosis in preclinical models of aging and pressure overload. Myocardial fibrosis and remodeling were analyzed in two animal models: (i) aging (15-month-old male CF-1 mice vs. young 6- to 8-week-old mice), and (ii) pressure overload (PO; by transverse aortic constriction in 4- to 5-month-old male C57BL/6 mice vs. sham-operated for 14 days). In vivo T₂-mapping was performed by acquiring data during the isovolumic and early diastolic phases, with a modified respiratory and ECG-triggered multiecho TurboRARE sequence on a 7-T MRI. Cine MRI provided cardiac morphology and function. A quantitative segmentation method was developed to analyze the in vivo T₂-maps of hearts at midventricle, apex, and basal regions. The cardiac fibrosis area was analyzed ex vivo by picro sirius red (PSR) staining. Both aged and pressure-overloaded hearts developed significant myocardial contractile dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. The aged mice had two phenotypes, fibrotic and mild-fibrotic. Notably, the aged fibrotic subgroup and the PO mice showed a marked decrease in T₂ relaxation times (25.3 ± 0.6 in aged vs. 29.9 ± 0.7 ms in young mice, p = 0.002; and 24.3 ± 1.7 in PO vs. 28.7 ± 0.7 ms in shams, p = 0.05). However, no significant difference in T₂ was detected between the aged mild-fibrotic subgroup and the young mice. Accordingly, an inverse correlation between myocardial fibrosis percentage (FP) and T₂ relaxation time was derived (R² = 0.98): T₂ (ms) = 30.45 – 1.05 × FP. Thus, these results demonstrate a statistical agreement between T₂-map–quantified fibrosis and PSR staining in two different clinically relevant animal models. In conclusion, T₂-mapping MRI is a promising noninvasive contrast agent-free quantitative technique to characterize myocardial fibrosis.     

Hip Displacement in Cerebral Palsy: The Role of Surveillance

IntroductionHip displacement is common in cerebral palsy (CP) and is related to the severity of neurological and functional impairment. It is a silent, but progressive disease, and can result in significant morbidity and decreased quality of life, if left untreated. The pathophysiology of hip displacement in CP is a combination of hip flexor-adductor muscle spasticity, abductor muscle weakness, and delayed weight-bearing, resulting in proximal femoral deformities and progressive acetabular dysplasia. Due to a lack of symptoms in the early stages of hip displacement, the diagnosis is easily missed. Awareness of this condition and regular surveillance by clinical examination and serial radiographs of the hips are the key to early diagnosis and treatment.Hip surveillance programmesSeveral population-based studies from around the world have demonstrated that universal hip surveillance in children with CP allows early detection of hip displacement and appropriate early intervention, with a resultant decrease in painful dislocations. Global hip surveillance models are based upon the patients’ age, functional level determined by the Gross Motor Function Classification system (GMFCS), gait classification, standardized clinical exam, and radiographic indices such as the migration percentage (MP), as critical indicators of progressive hip displacement.ConclusionDespite 25 years of evidence showing the efficacy of established hip surveillance programmes, there is poor awareness among healthcare professionals in India about the importance of regular hip surveillance in children with CP. There is a need for professional organizations to develop evidence-based guidelines for hip surveillance which are relevant to the Indian context.     

Update on sports imaging

Sports Imaging has dramatically increased in the past decade with increasing number of adolescents, young and middle-aged adults participating in non-competitive/hobby sports. Therefore, sports injuries are no longer confined to elite athletes. Furthermore, newer forms of sports such as mountain climbing, pickle ball and curling etc. are gaining popularity. Majority of the injuries in sports medicine are from musculoskeletal trauma. Therefore, it is imperative that the musculoskeletal radiologist becomes familiar with various sports related injury patterns as these are commonly encountered in daily practice. This update aims to briefly encapsulate the major aspects of sports imaging. It includes the imaging manifestations of various types of musculoskeletal injuries on different modalities (commonly US and MRI) and briefly mentions the various image guided interventions, performed both on the sports field and in the hospital setting.     

Endolymph magnetic resonance imaging: Contribution of saccule and utricle analysis in the management of patients with sensorineural ear disorders

Endolymphatic hydrops features excess endolymph in the membranous labyrinth, and is a marker of Menière's disease. Between the early 1980s and late 2000s, MRI in Menière's disease aimed purely to rule out tumor or malformation as differential diagnoses for the pressure disorder. Progress in high-resolution MRI, however, now enables excess endolymph to be visualized in the membranous labyrinth, differentiating saccule and utricle in Menière's disease and in other clinical presentations such as cochleovestibular schwannoma. More recently, non-visibility of the saccule was demonstrated in a subgroup of Menière's disease patients, and utricle atelectasis in case of uni- or bilateral vestibular areflexia. Endolymph quantification remains highly controversial in terms of grading approach, but a simple semiology based on excess or deficient visualization of endolymph according to the compartment sheds light on the pathophysiological mechanisms of cochleovestibular disorder and may in future allow effective monitoring of medical and surgical treatment.     

归脾丸加减对围绝经期功血患者免疫功能的影响

目的:探究归脾丸加减对围绝经期功血患者免疫功能、白细胞介素2(IL-2)、可溶性白细胞介素-2受体(sIL-2R)的影响。方法:选取2019年3月至2018年6月山东省济南市中西医结合医院收治的符合纳入条件的围绝经期功血患者118例作为研究对象,按照就诊顺序编号随机分为对照组和观察组,每组59例。对照组常规西医治疗,观察组加用归脾丸加减治疗,均治疗3个月。观察2组治疗前、完成治疗后T淋巴细胞亚群、IL-2、sIL-2R、凝血功能、子宫内膜厚度、激素水平、症状积分变化;完成治疗后统计治疗过程中的不良反应。结果:1)完成治疗后,2组CD3+、CD4+、CD4+/CD8+、IL-2较治疗前均显著升高,CD8+、sIL-2R则显著下降(P<0.05);完成治疗后观察组CD8+、sIL-2R显著低于于对照组,余均高于对照组(P<0.05)。2)完成治疗后2组凝血酶原时间(PT)、活化部分凝血活酶时间(APTT)、凝血酶时间(TT)、子宫内膜厚度较治疗前均显著下降(P<0.05),完成治疗后观察组以上指标均显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。3)完成治疗后2组黄体生成素(LH)、促排卵生成素(FSH)、雌二醇(E2)、孕酮(P)、血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)、碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(bFGF)较治疗前均显著下降(P<0.05),完成治疗后观察组以上指标均显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。4)完成治疗后2组月经周期、阴道出血量、阴道出血天数、神疲乏力积分较治疗前均显著下降(P<0.05),完成治疗后观察组以上指标均显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。5)完成治疗后观察组胃肠道反应、体质量增加、肝功能异常、乳房胀痛发生率均显著低于对照组,2组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:归脾丸加减能提高围绝经期功血患者免疫功能,抑制IL-2、sIL-2R,改善凝血功能,从而改善症状,提高疗效。     

Altered speech-related cortical network in frontotemporal dementia

BackgroundIn healthy subjects (HS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) demonstrated an increase in motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes during specific linguistic tasks. This finding indicates functional connections between speech-related cortical areas and the dominant primary motor cortex (M1).ObjectiveTo investigate M1 function with TMS and the speech-related cortical network with neuroimaging measures in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), including the non-fluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfv-PPA) and the behavioral variant of FTD (bv-FTD).MethodsM1 excitability changes during specific linguistc tasks were examined using TMS in 24 patients (15 with nfv-PPA and 9 with bv-FTD) and in 18 age-matched HS. In the same patients neuroimaging was used to assess changes in specific white matter (WM) bundles and grey matter (GM) regions involved in language processing, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM).ResultsDuring the linguistic task, M1 excitability increased in HS, whereas in FTD patients it did not. M1 excitability changes were comparable in nfv-PPA and bv-FTD. DTI revealed decreased fractional anisotropy in the superior and inferior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi. Moreover, VBM disclosed GM volume loss in the left frontal operculum though not in the parietal operculum or precentral gyrus. Furthermore, WM and GM changes were comparable in nfv-PPA and bv-FTD. There was no correlation between neurophysiological and neuroimaging changes in FTD. Atrophy in the left frontal operculum correlated with linguistic dysfunction, assessed by semantic and phonemic fluency tests.ConclusionWe provide converging neurophysiological and neuroimaging evidence of abnormal speech-related cortical network activation in FTD.     

CT与MRI对脑梗死后出血性转变的诊断价值

目的探讨CT与MRI在脑梗死后出血性转变(HT)中的诊断价值。方法对2011-01—2014-04我院收治的45例HT患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析,对CT与MRI的检查结果进行对比。结果45例患者中,脑内血肿34例(75.6%),脑梗死病灶内片状、斑点状或条状出血11例(24.4%)。其中大面积脑梗死继发出血24例(53.3%),中等面积继发出血15例(33.3%),小面积脑梗死继发出血6例(13.3%);CT检出HT 10例(22.2%),MRI检出45例(100%),差异有统计学意义(P0.05);在对不同部位的HT检查中,CT检出幕上出血9例(20.0%),幕下出血1例(2.2%);MRI检出幕上出血39例(86.7%),幕下出血6例(13.3%)。MRI对幕上及幕下出血的检出率均优于CT(P0.05)。结论在HT的诊断中,MRI比CT更加准确和敏感,在判断出血时间、指导临床治疗以及预后判断中具有重要意义。     

乳腺密度对浸润性小叶癌术前MRI评估的影响

目的:探讨MRI在浸润性小叶癌(ILC)术前诊断中的应用价值，并评估乳腺密度对其影响。方法:选取75例术前30天内行MRI检查的I-Ⅲ期ILC患者列入本项研究，根据腺体含量评估乳腺密度，在MRI下测量肿瘤大小，并对比其与病理大小的一致性。结果:75例入组患者中26例（34.7%）患者经MRI评估发现新的可疑病灶，20例（26.7%）患者改变了手术方式。高密度乳腺型患者额外病灶检出率明显高于低密度乳腺型患者（51.6% vs 22.7%，P=0.010）。MRI评估肿瘤大小在低密度乳腺型患者中容易被低估（36.4% vs 12.9%，P=0.024），在高密度乳腺型患者中容易被高估（6.8% vs 29.0%，P=0.010），但两组患者与病理大小一致性的比例无明显差异。结论:ILC患者术前乳腺MRI检查能够提高额外恶性肿瘤的检出率，而乳腺密度是影响MRI评估的重要因素。