Lung hot spot as pitfall in PET-CT interpretation: focal lung uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose

(18)F-FDG PET-CT has become an essential tool in oncology patient management. The normal distribution of the FDG and the possible artifacts (pitfalls), including those from CT-based attenuation correction, have already been described in several reviews. However, only a few cases of FDG focal lung uptake have been reported recently. We present two cases of oncology patients during a routine follow-up with this type of pitfall, without morphological correlation in the CT scan. We repeated the study in one of them, which made it possible to verify normalization of the hyperuptake, orienting us towards a possible pitfall.     

Exacerbation of type II collagen–induced arthritis in apolipoprotein E–deficient mice in association with the expansion of Th1 and Th17 cells

Objective

To explore the bidirectional relationship between the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and atherosclerosis using bovine type II collagen (CII)–immunized B10.RIII apoE^−/− mice, a murine model of spontaneous atherosclerosis and collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA).

Methods

Male B10.RIII apoE^−/− mice and wild‐type controls were immunized with 150 μg of CII emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant (CFA). The clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic severity of CIA, the levels of circulating IgG1 and IgG2a anti‐CII antibodies, the expression of proinflammatory and antiinflammatory cytokines in the joints, and the percentages of Th1, Th17, and Treg lymphocytes in the draining lymph nodes were evaluated during CIA induction. In addition, the size of atherosclerotic lesions was assessed in these mice 8 weeks after CIA induction.

Results

B10.RIII apoE^−/− mice that were immunized with CII and CFA developed an exacerbated CIA that was accompanied by increased joint expression of multiple proinflammatory cytokines and by the expansion in the draining lymph nodes of Th1 and Th17 cells. In contrast, the size of vascular lesions in B10.RIII apoE^−/− mice was not affected by the development of CIA.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that a deficiency in apolipoprotein E and/or its consequences in cholesterol metabolism act as accelerating factors in autoimmunity by promoting Th1 and Th17 inflammatory responses.

     

Intravenous magnesium sulphate for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: an updated systemic review and meta-analysis

Introduction  

Previous meta-analyses of magnesium sulphate infusion in the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have become outdated due to recently published clinical trials. Our aim was thus to perform an up-to-date systemic review and meta-analysis of published data on the use of magnesium sulphate infusion in aneurysmal SAH patients.     

Common stressful life events and difficulties are associated with mental health symptoms and substance use in young adolescents

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Stressful life events are associated with mood disorders in adults in clinical settings. Less described in the literature is the association between common life stressors and a wide range of psychopathology in young adolescents. This study uses a large non-clinical sample of young adolescents to describe the associations among worry or stress about common life events/difficulties, mental health and substance use. METHODS: Data on lifetime stress or worry about common life events/difficulties (i.e., romantic breakups, family disruption, interpersonal difficulties, and personal stress (health, weight, school work)), symptoms of depression, conduct disorder symptoms, and substance use were collected from 1025 grade 7 students (mean age 12.9 years; 45% male). The association between each source of stress and each mental health and substance use indicator was modeled in separate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The proportion of adolescents reporting worry or stress ranged from 7% for new family to 53% for schoolwork. Romantic breakup stress was statistically significantly associated with all the mental health and substance use indicators except illicit drug use. Family disruption was statistically significantly associated with depression symptoms, marijuana use, and cigarette use. Interpersonal difficulties stress was statistically significantly associated with depression symptoms. All sources of personal stress were statistically significantly related to depression symptoms. In addition, health-related stress was inversely related to binge drinking. CONCLUSION: Young adolescents may benefit from learning positive coping skills to manage worry or stress about common stressors and in particular, worry or stress related to romantic breakups. Appropriate management of mental health symptoms and substance use related to common stressful life events and difficulties may help reduce emerging psychopathology.