T1‐weighted fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery and T1‐weighted fast spin‐echo contrast‐enhanced imaging: A comparison in 20 patients with brain lesions

T1‐weighted fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence is a relatively new pulse sequence for intracranial MR imaging. This study was performed to compare the image quality of T1‐weighted FLAIR with the T1‐weighted FSE sequence. Twenty patients with brain lesions underwent T1‐weighted fast spin‐echo (FSE) and T1‐weighted FLAIR during the same imaging session. Four quantitative and three qualitative criteria were used to compare the two sequences after contrast. Two of four quantitative criteria pertained to lesion characteristics: lesion to white matter (WM) contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and lesion to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CNR, and two related to signals from normal tissue: grey matter to WM CNR and WM to CSF CNR. The three qualitative criteria were conspicuousness of the lesion, the presence of image artefacts and the overall image contrast. Both T1‐weighted FSE and FLAIR images were effective in demonstrating lesions. Image contrast was superior in T1‐weighted FLAIR images with significantly improved grey matter‐WM CNRs and CSF‐WM CNRs. The overall image contrast was judged to be superior on T1‐weighted FLAIR images compared with T1‐weighted FSE images by all neuroradiologists. Two of three reviewers considered that the FLAIR images had slightly increased imaging artefacts that, however, did not interfere with image interpretation. T1‐weighted FLAIR imaging provides improved lesion‐to‐background and grey to WM contrast‐to‐noise ratios. Superior conspicuity of lesions and overall image contrast is obtained in comparable acquisition times. These indicate an important role for T1‐weighted FLAIR in intracranial imaging and highlight its advantage over the more widely practiced T1‐weighted FSE sequence.     

敏定偶用于35岁以上妇女的疗效、安全性和周期控制

<正> 口服避孕药在投放市场之初,应用于各种年龄段的妇女。然而资料显示早期使用的高剂量口服避孕药会增加心肌梗塞的发病率;在1975年,美国食品药物管理局(FDA)不建议40岁以上的妇女服用避孕药,对30岁以上的吸烟妇女建议她们要么停止吸烟要么改换避孕方式。随着研究的进一步深入及低剂量口服避孕药的问市,已证实任何年龄的非吸烟     

Biliary decompression: an institutional comparison of percutaneous and endoscopic methods

Endoscopically performed biliary drainage (EPBD) is now an alternative to percutaneous biliary drainage. The morbidity, mortality, and survival statistics of 97 patients with obstructive jaundice who had undergone percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) and surgery, PTBD alone, EPBD and surgery, or EPBD alone were compared. Overall, the EPBD group had fewer complications and lower mortality than the other groups. When palliative treatment of patients with malignancies was compared, the complication rates associated with EPBD and PTBD were similar; however, mortality was lower with EPBD. No negative effect on survival was found with EPBD. In addition, EPBD offered several additional advantages over PTBD, including fewer bleeding complications, better patient acceptance, and avoidance of external catheter care. EPBD should be considered as a viable alternative to PTBD. Additional studies are needed to determine whether it is to be considered the initial drainage procedure of choice in patients with obstructive jaundice.     

Functional and morphological studies of long-term islet allografts in the renal subcapsular space of the BB/W rat

Our primary objective in this study was to determine whether transplanted pancreatic islet B cells display normal glucose-stimulated insulin secretory responses. Since transplanted islets are deinnervated and are located in a potentially unfavorable hormonal environment, it is possible that transplanted islets can maintain blood glucose levels but still not be completely normal. Since immune mechanisms may alter secretory responses but fail to cause overt islet necrosis (rejection), we used the BB/W spontaneously diabetic rat as the recipient in these studies. Islets harvested from inbred Lewis rats were transplanted beneath the renal capsule with minimal ALS immunosuppression posttransplantation. The transplanted animals showed a normal response to a glucose tolerance test. After 122-155 days of normoglycemia, the islets were retrieved and subjected to 2.8 and 16.7 mM glucose. The results indicate that the islet allografts maintain their secretory response to glucose when compared to donor Lewis islets acutely isolated from the pancreas. Furthermore, the transplanted islets maintained their morphologic integrity.     

tdic(9;12): a nonrandom chromosome abnormality in childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Pediatric Oncology Group Study

In a review of 432 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we identified a new nonrandom translocation, tdic(9;12)(p1?1;p1?2), in the leukemic marrow cells of eight patients. Seven had hypodiploid karyotypes that lacked chromosomes 9 and 12 and contained a der(12), tdic(9;12); the eighth had a pseudodiploid karyotype with two normal 9 chromosomes, one normal 12 and the der(12), tdic(9;12). Abnormalities involving chromosomes other than 9 and 12 were noted in four of the eight patients. All cells with the tdic(9;12) expressed both the common ALL antigen and HLA-DR. Cytoplasmic immunoglobulin, a marker of pre-B ALL, was detected in one case with the tdic(9;12) but was absent in the other seven. Our results suggest that the tdic(9;12)(p1?1;p1?2) rearrangement is specifically associated with leukemic B cell precursors.     

Determining mandibular condyle and ramus height with the help of an Orthopantomogram®– a valid method?

summary The asymmetry of condylar and rami heights was determined from Orthopantomograms® of 25 macerated skulls and compared with the results of the 'true' values obtained by direct measurements of the skulls. The correlation between the two measuring methods was low.