Effect of radioactivity outside the field of view on image quality of dedicated breast positron emission tomography: preliminary phantom and clinical studies

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Semi-quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) values, such as the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), are widely used to identify malignant lesions and...     

Voxel-based analysis of age and gender effects on striatal [123I] FP-CIT binding in healthy Japanese adults

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Although previous studies have investigated age and gender effects on striatal subregional dopamine transporter (DaT) binding, these studies were mostly based on a...     

Improvement by eicosanoids in cancer cachexia induced by LLC-IL6 transplantation

Cachexia frequently occurs in the late stages of cancer, and is difficult to manage. We previously reported that interleukin-6 (IL-6) cDNA transfection into Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC-IL6) induced cachexia-like symptoms in C57BL/6 mice. This was thought to be a useful experimental model of cancer cachexia. We have examined the effects of two eicosanoids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), in order to evaluate whether they could relieve cachexia. LLC-IL6-bearing animals were divided into three treatment groups receiving DHA, EPA or water as the control; 80-l samples of these compounds (purity>95%) were administered orally by catheter daily starting 7 days after tumor transplantation. Tumor growth curves were similar in the three groups. There were no differences in water or food intake in the three groups. However, body weight, a marker of cachexia, was significantly higher in treated mice than in the control group. Sixteen days after tumor transplantation, the mean body weight was 17.45 g (P<0.05), 17.2 g and 16.41 g in the groups receiving DHA, EPA and water respectively. The eicosanoids did not affect serum levels of IL-6. Ubiquitination of muscle protein, a marker of proteolysis coupled to cachexia, was compared in LLC-IL6-and LLC-transplanted mice. The eicosanoids prevented the ubiquitination of approximately 180 kDa protein. These results suggest that eicosanoids may prevent the cachexia mediated by IL-6.Abbreviations DHA docosahexaenoic acid - EPA eicosapentaenoic acid - LLC Lewis lung carcinoma - IL interleukin     

Gastric Acid Normosecretion Is Not Essential in the Pathogenesis of Mild Erosive Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Relation to Helicobacter pylori Status

In the pathogenesis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastric acid is considered to be one of the most important factors, but little is known about the degree of gastric acid secretion in GERD patients. In this study, we evaluated it in GERD patients and control subjects by 24-h intragastric pH, and serological and histological investigations, in relation to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status. In H. pylori-negative GERD patients gastric acid secretion was similar to that in H. pylori-negative control subjects. In H. pylori-positive GERD patients, in particular, mild GERD patients, it decreased significantly compared to that in H. pylori-negative control subjects, but the degree of decrease was smaller than in H. pylori-positive control subjects. Results of serological and histological evaluation were supportive. In conclusion, in some GERD patients, gastric acid secretion was significantly decreased. Increased or maintained gastric acid secretion was not essential in the pathogenesis of mild GERD.     

Ampullary somatostatinoma in a patient with von Recklinghausen's disease

We report a case of somatostatinoma of the ampulla of Vater associated with von Recklinghausen's disease in a 44-year-old woman. On admission the patient was jaundiced, and percutaneous Cholangiodrainage was performed. Cholangiography revealed stenosis of the common bile duct at the lower end Duodenoscopy showed a yellowish tumor of the ampulla of Vater, and the biopsy specimens showed no malignant cells. Pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. Histologically, the tumor was composed of small round cells with a solid or trabecular pattern and with multiple psammoma bodies. Immunohistochemical examination showed that the tumor cells stained for somatostatin. Genomic examination showed neither K-ras nor p53 gene mutations of the resected specimen.     

A severe form of autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia associated with novel PMPCA variants

Spinocerebellar ataxia, autosomal recessive 2 (SCAR2) [MIM:213200] is a rare autosomal recessive disease of spinocerebellar ataxia associated with degeneration of the cerebellum with variable involvement of the brainstem and spinal cord. SCAR2 is characterized by onset of impaired motor development and ataxic gait in early childhood. Recently, several PMPCA gene variants have been reported in SCAR2 patients with mild and non-progressive symptoms. PMPCA codes frataxin, which is crucial for iron biosynthesis in cells. We report a case of a 15-year-old Japanese girl with infancy-onset, very severe and progressive developmental delay, cerebellar ataxia, and extrapyramidal symptoms. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed cerebellar atrophy and excessive brain iron accumulation in the bilateral globus pallidi and substantia nigra. Based on the clinical phenotypes and imaging, neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation was suspected. Whole-exome sequencing on the proband and her parents revealed novel compound heterozygous variants at c.667C > T (p.Arg223Cys) and c.853del (p.Asp285llefs*16) in PMPCA. Thus, her disease was diagnosed as SCAR2. Phenotype in our case was different from ones previously reported for SCARs in the points of much severer clinical presentations with extrapyramidal signs and imaging suspected iron accumulation, and might overlap neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation or NBIA subtypes. Our case might provide a new insight into PMPCA gene-related disorders and expand the disease concept.     

Optimal relaxation parameters of dynamic row-action maximum likelihood algorithm and post-smoothing filter for image reconstruction of dedicated breast PET

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - This study aimed to determine the optimal β value of the relaxation control parameter and the post-smoothing filter in the list-mode dynamic row-action maximum...