Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome: imaging of small bowel lesions with peroral CT enterography

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare entity that consists of multiple venous malformations involving several organ systems, particularly the skin and the gastrointestinal tract. The diagnosis is based on clinical findings; however, imaging is required to investigate the extent of involvement and complications. A 17-year-old patient, with multiple blue skin nevus, was admitted to the emergency room of our hospital with severe gastrointestinal bleeding and melena. Upper endoscopy showed two wine-color vascular lesions in the duodenum, and colonoscopy revealed multiple lesions in the colon. Peroral CT enterography demonstrated multiple (more than 30) contrast-enhanced polypoid small bowel lesions, ranging in size from 5 to 16 mm. Some lesions contained millimetric calcifications representing phleboliths. The patient also had three pancreatic lesions which showed homogenous enhancement on the delayed images. Our findings show that peroral CT enterography is useful to demonstrate the extent of small bowel lesions of BRBNS. This is the first report of pancreatic involvement of BRBNS.     

Antidepressant effect detected on proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in drug-naïve female patients with first-episode major depression

Aim:  Recent neuroimaging studies support functional and structural alterations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), particularly on the left side in patients with major depressive disorders (MDD). The aim of the present study was to examine the biochemical characteristics of left DLPFC as measured on proton (¹H) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in patients with drug-naïve first-episode MDD and a healthy control group. A second aim was to assess the effect of antidepressant treatment on the metabolites of DLPFC.
Methods:  Short-echo single-voxel ¹H-MRS was done for the left DLPFC in 17 female drug-free MDD patients (mean age ± SD, 30.9 ± 6.9 years) and 13 matched control subjects (mean age ± SD, 29.1 ± 6.2 years) and was repeated at 8 weeks following antidepressant treatment.
Results:  Comparison of baseline values indicated that there were no significant differences in any of the metabolite ratios ( N -acetyl aspartate/creatine [NAA/Cr], myoinositol [Ino]/Cr, and choline [Cho]/Cr) between patients and controls. Significant differences were detected between pre- and post-treatment Ino/Cr ratios (0.67 ± 0.13, 0.58 ± 0.22, P  = 0.032, respectively), although there was no difference in NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios.
Conclusion:  Although no significant metabolic alterations exist in female patients with drug-naïve first-episode MDD as evaluated on ¹H-MRS, an increase in Ino/Cr was observed following 8-week antidepressant treatment. These findings give rise to the possibility that non-neuronal cells, particularly glial cells that are probably damaged, play a role in the action of antidepressant treatment.     

Impaired right ventricular function in adenotonsillar hypertrophy

Objective Adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) causing upper airway obstruction and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome and may lead to the pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale. This study was designed to determine the clinical value of right ventricular (RV) myocardial performance index (MPI) in ATH. The effects of adenotonsillectomy on MPI were also assessed. Methods Twenty-one children with grade 3 and grade 4 ATH and 21 age-and-sex matched healthy children were enrolled. MPI, defined as the sum of isovolumetric contraction and relaxation time divided by ejection time, was measured by using Doppler echocardiography preoperatively and postoperatively in all subjects. The quality of life in children was also assessed with obstructive sleep disorder questionnaire (OSA-18). Results The RV MPI in patients with ATH was significantly higher than the control group (0.41 ± 0.06 vs. 0.29 ± 0.07; P < .001). It showed a strong correlation with mean pulmonary artery pressure and OSA-18 survey score (r = 0.71; P < .005 and (r = 0.64; P < .01, respectively). The RV MPI and OSA-18 survey score decreased significantly after the relief of upper airway obstruction by adenotonsillectomy (from 0.41 ± 0.06 to 0.31 ± 0.03; P < .001 and from 83 ± 27 to 36 ± 12; P < .0001, respectively). The RV MPI in postoperative group was similar to control group. Conclusion Our findings support that advanced stage of ATH is associated with impaired RV functions, which were recovered postoperatively.