Synthetic MRI is not yet ready for morphologic and functional assessment of patellar cartilage at 1.5 Tesla

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare morphologic assessment and relaxometry of patellar hyaline cartilage between conventional sequences (fast spin-echo [FSE] T2-weighted fat-saturated and T2-mapping) and synthetic T2 short-TI inversion recovery (STIR) and T2 maps at 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodThe MRI examinations of the knee obtained at 1.5 T in 49 consecutive patients were retrospectively studied. There were 21 men and 28 women with a mean age of 45 ± 17.7 (SD) years (range: 18–88 years). Conventional and synthetic acquisitions were performed, including T2-weighted fat-saturated and T2-mapping sequences. Two radiologists independently compared patellar cartilage T2-relaxation time on conventional T2-mapping and synthetic T2-mapping images. A third radiologist evaluated the patellar cartilage morphology on conventional and synthetic T2-weighted images. The presence of artifacts was also assessed. Interobserver agreement for quantitative variables was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsIn vitro, conventional and synthetic T2 maps yielded similar mean T2 values 58.5 ± 2.3 (SD) ms and 58.8 ± 2.6 (SD) ms, respectively (P = 0.414) and 6% lower than the expected experimental values (P = 0.038). Synthetic images allowed for a 15% reduction in examination time compared to conventional images. On conventional sequences, patellar chondropathy was identified in 35 patients (35/49; 71%) with a mean chondropathy grade of 4.8 ± 4.8 (SD). On synthetic images, 28 patients (28/49; 57%) were diagnosed with patellar chondropathy, with a significant 14% difference (P = 0.009) and lower chondropathy scores (3.7 ± 4.9 [SD]) compared to conventional images. Motion artifacts were more frequently observed on synthetic images (18%) than on conventional ones (6%). The interobserver agreement was excellent for both conventional and synthetic T2 maps (ICC > 0.83). Mean cartilage T2 values were significantly greater on synthetic images (36.2 ± 3.8 [SD] ms; range: 29-46 ms) relative to conventional T2 maps (31.8 ± 4.1 [SD] ms; range: 26-49 ms) (P < 0.0001).ConclusionDespite a decrease in examination duration, synthetic images convey lower diagnostic performance for chondropathy, greater prevalence of motion artifacts, and an overestimation of T2 values compared to conventional MRI sequences.     

基于外邪理论探讨肿瘤的发病机制

肿瘤防控是当今世界性一大难题，目前我国每年新发肿瘤病例即将突破400万。近年来，我国肿瘤总体发病率和死亡率呈现逐年上升趋势，肿瘤的高死亡率和低治愈率已严重威胁我国居民健康，很大程度影响了患者的生存质量，大大降低患者的生活水平，危害患者的身心健康。中医认为，肿瘤发病的病因复杂，病机变化多端，是内外因相互影响、相互作用的结果。若在外邪作用于人体之初，及时辨证施治，防止伏邪入里发生传变，将大大减少肿瘤疾病的发生和发展。因此，外邪理论与肿瘤的发病机制亟待进一步探究。在中国知网（CNKI），Public Medline（PubMed）数据库中以外感、邪气、中医、肿瘤、发病机制等关键词进行检索，本文共纳入67篇中英文文献为参考，对外邪理论与肿瘤发病机制进行全面探讨。强调了外邪在肿瘤发病中的重要作用，以及中医药在早期防治肿瘤中具有显著的优势。外邪如风邪、寒邪、湿邪、火邪、从口鼻皮表而入的邪气等因素，使得肿瘤的发生更具复杂性。中医药可以在肿瘤发展早期进行有效的防护和干预，可大大提高防病抗肿瘤的目的，减少肿瘤的发生、发展、传变，使临床用药更有效、更精准、更具靶向性，不至使肿瘤的治疗错失良机，为临床治疗肿瘤提供更明确的指导方向。     

Position paper on stress cardiac MRI in chronic coronary syndrome: Endorsed by the Société Française de Radiologie (SFR) the Société Française d’Imagerie CardioVasculaire (SFICV) and the Société Française de Cardiologie (SFC)

This position paper was intended to update the former consensus between the French Societies of Radiology and Cardiology about the use of stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in chronic coronary syndrome published in 2009. The Delphi method was used to build the present consensus. This expert panel consensus includes recommendations for indications, procedure with patient preparation, stress inducing drugs, acquisition protocol, interpretation and risk stratification by stress MRI.     

基于粒子群优化的BP神经网络对血脂异常气郁痰阻型中医证候的疗效预测＊

目的 选用两种药物分析对血脂异常、中医证候的疗效，以中医证候积分为基础建立血脂异常气郁痰阻型的疗效表征模型，进而提出基于粒子群优化的BP神经网络预测两种方法的疗效。方法 收集50名符合血脂异常气郁痰阻型患者的基本资料，将患者随机分为解郁祛痰化浊方组（JQHP）、血脂康胶囊组（XZKC），每组25例，观察疗程12周治疗前后的血脂水平，治疗前及治疗期间每4周记录一次中医证候积分，共4次。定性疗效分析参考血脂防治指南和中医疗效积分，采用t检验、非参数检验及X²分析的方法；神经网络模型采用粒子群优化的BP神经网络，定量构建血脂异常气郁痰阻证的预测模型，设置为三层网络，输入层节点数为15，隐含层节点数为6，输出层节点数为1。针对JQHP组和XZKC组的数据，分别选择80%的数据进行训练，20%的数据进行验证。结果 两组治疗前、治疗4周、治疗8周、治疗12周的中医证候积分随治疗周期的增加而下降（P < 0.05）。JQHP组除了“形体肥胖”外，其余14项症状均有显著的改善（P < 0.05），XZKC组治疗前后比较除“形体肥胖”、“头晕”、“胸闷”外，其余12项均改善（P < 0.05）。以中医证候积分建立的基于粒子群优化BP神经网络的预测精度高、稳定性佳，可以定量预测两种药物对未知患者的疗效。结论 JQHP和XZKC可以改善血脂异常患者的血脂水平，改善气郁痰阻型患者的症状，此为定性分析。利用中医证候积分建立的基于粒子群优化BP神经网络两种治疗方法的预测模型，可定量预测未知患者的疗效。以此思路将有助于找到一种特定治疗方法的适应人群，从而提高该治疗方法的针对性，实现中医药的智能化、精准化、定量化。     

Comparison of quantitative susceptibility mapping methods on evaluating radiation-induced cerebral microbleeds and basal ganglia at 3T and 7T

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has the potential for being a biomarker for various diseases because of its ability to measure tissue susceptibility related to iron deposition, myelin, and hemorrhage from the phase signal of a T₂*-weighted MRI. Despite its promise as a quantitative marker, QSM is faced with many challenges, including its dependence on preprocessing of the raw phase data, the relatively weak tissue signal, and the inherently ill posed relationship between the magnetic dipole and measured phase. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of background field removal and dipole inversion algorithms on noise characteristics, image uniformity, and structural contrast for cerebral microbleed (CMB) quantification at both 3T and 7T. We selected four widely used background phase removal and five dipole field inversion algorithms for QSM and applied them to volunteers and patients with CMBs, who were scanned at two different field strengths, with ground truth QSM reference calculated using multiple orientation scans. 7T MRI provided QSM images with lower noise than did 3T MRI. QSIP and VSHARP + iLSQR achieved the highest white matter homogeneity and vein contrast, with QSIP also providing the highest CMB contrast. Compared with ground truth COSMOS QSM images, overall good correlations between susceptibility values of dipole inversion algorithms and the COSMOS reference were observed in basal ganglia regions, with VSHARP + iLSQR achieving the susceptibility values most similar to COSMOS across all regions. This study can provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate QSM processing pipeline based on the application of interest and scanner field strength.     

《邵氏医案》从血辨治痛经浅析

[目的]分析总结浙江近代著名临床医家邵兰荪治疗痛经的经验,以期为临床治疗提供借鉴。[方法]通过研读裘吉生编《邵氏医案》,筛选出其中治疗痛经的医案十余则,并结合邵氏在妇科方面的学术思想,进一步分析其辨证立法遣方特色,从而总结邵氏治疗痛经的临证经验。[结果]邵氏治疗痛经多从血辨治,且分虚实两端,其中属虚者血虚内热用益母胜金丹养血清热、活血止痛,血虚肝风治以养血柔肝、息风止痛;属实者水结血瘀用五苓散利水散瘀、行气止痛,气阻血滞治从行气活血、调经止痛。[结论]在治疗妇人痛经方面,邵氏辨治遣方确有独特经验,这些经验可为中医药治疗此类疾病拓宽诊治思路,有助于提高临床疗效。     

中医体质研究40年回顾与展望

文章回顾中医体质研究40年来在6大理论创新、3大技术创新、4大转化应用、2大学术平台方面取得的辉煌成就。展望未来，中医体质研究将积极策应国家需求，进一步发挥其原创优势、深化理论研究、完善技术方法、加快平台建设、提升服务能力，为实施“健康中国”战略作贡献。     

基于调控肠道菌群探讨中药防治脑卒中

肠道菌群是一个独特的生态系统,被称为人体"被遗忘的器官",被誉为人类的"第二基因组"。肠道菌群失调与许多中枢神经系统疾病相关,例如帕金森病、阿尔茨海默症、精神分裂症及多发性硬化等。脑卒中具有高的发病率、复发率、死亡率和致残率的特点。肠道菌群在脑卒中的发生、发展中起着关键的作用,可通过影响机体的吸收、代谢、血压、血糖、血脂及动脉粥样斑块等因素,进一步影响脑卒中的发病。中医认为脾胃气血流注失度、阴阳盛衰失衡,机体生理功能失调,化生"风、火、痰、虚、瘀"等病理产物,可致中风的发生。脾胃主腐熟运化水谷,肠道菌群影响饮食的消化吸收,现代研究的肠道菌群功能与中医之脾胃功能失调相关。因此,调整肠道菌群的稳态,可作为一个潜在的干预靶点预防和治疗缺血性脑卒中。中药干预脑卒中已经取得了很好的疗效,是否与调节肠道菌群有关,值得未来做进一步的研究。同时对中药有效成分(小檗碱、黄芩苷、白藜芦醇等),中药单方(丹参、红景天等)和中药组方(补阳还五汤、脑心通胶囊、补中益气汤等)防治脑缺血的研究进展进行综述,为缺血性脑卒中的预防和开发提供新的途径和思路。     

《黄帝内经》“死”症的机理探析

《黄帝内经》中约出现了493次“死”字,不能一概理解为“生命终止”之义,结合《黄帝内经》文意与后世医家探究,笔者认为约414处“死”字应灵活解释为病情紧急、危重难愈或预后较差。同时还有部分字词,如“亡、尽、终、不治、不可治”等也通此义。通过分析《黄帝内经》相关论述,将“死”症的机理归纳为阴阳离决、邪盛正衰、脏气竭绝、脾胃气绝、神气衰亡、经气败绝6个方面,发现以上病机既可单一致“死”,亦可复合相加致“死”,其中脾胃之气的衰微在多种病机中均有体现,故而认为“脾胃气绝”是“死”症的核心病机,因此在临床对于危重病人的救治中要慎察脾胃之气的盛衰变化,时时固守,谨防败坏。明“死”之机理,方能在辨病治病、判断预后、养生康复等过程中把握关键、争取主动。     

张立平教授治疗消化道术后胃肠功能紊乱经验

消化道术后胃肠功能紊乱影响着患者们的生活质量。张立平教授认为术后胃肠功能紊乱，证属本虚标实，临床治疗当从调理中焦-脾胃肝为切入点，强调"脾胃为本""中焦一体"的治疗思路，总结出脾胃虚弱、肝郁脾虚两个证型，临证时以培土达木为基本治疗原则，辨证论治，临床疗效显著。