The use of a portable gamma camera for preoperative lymphatic mapping: a comparison with a conventional gamma camera

Purpose  

Planar lymphoscintigraphy is routinely used for preoperative sentinel node visualization, but large gamma cameras are not always available. We evaluated the reproducibility of lymphatic mapping with a smaller and portable gamma camera.     

Total <Superscript>18</Superscript>F-dopa PET tumour uptake reflects metabolic endocrine tumour activity in patients with a carcinoid tumour

Purpose  

Positron emission tomography (PET) using 6-[¹⁸F]fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (¹⁸F-dopa) has an excellent sensitivity to detect carcinoid tumour lesions. ¹⁸F-dopa tumour uptake and the levels of biochemical tumour markers are mediated by tumour endocrine metabolic activity. We evaluated whether total ¹⁸F-dopa tumour uptake on PET, defined as whole-body metabolic tumour burden (WBMTB), reflects tumour load per patient, as measured with tumour markers.     

Unmasking a silent killer: Prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus among people living with HIV in rural South Africa

Objectives

To document the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) and to identify factors associated with undiagnosed DM in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods

Cross-sectional study performed at Ndlovu Medical Center, Limpopo, South Africa including PLWH aged ≥18 years. Between August and November 2017, 356 HIV-positive participants were included. Information was collected on socio-demographics, DM symptoms and risk factors for DM. IGT and DM were diagnosed using random plasma glucose and/or HbA1c. Factors associated with undiagnosed DM were assessed by comparing participants with newly diagnosed DM to participants without DM.

Results

IGT was diagnosed in 172 (48.3%) participants. Twenty-nine (8.1%) participants met the definition of DM, of whom 17 (58.6%) were newly diagnosed. Compared to participants without DM, participants with DM were on average 5 years older, were more likely to have a positive family history for DM, were less physically active and had higher systolic blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference. Factors associated with undiagnosed DM included age ≥45 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.59) and physical inactivity (OR = 3.17).

Conclusions

The prevalence of IGT and DM among PLWH is high and more than half of DM cases were undiagnosed. Regular screening for DM in PLWH is recommended, especially in an ageing population with additional cardiovascular disease risk factors.     

Causes of Hypertensive Anterior Uveitis in Thailand

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To determine the prevalence of viral infections in patients with hypertensive anterior uveitis in Thailand from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of aqueous humor.     

Histamine H1-receptor blockade in humans affects psychomotor performance but not memory

Results from recent animal studies suggest an important role for histamine in memory functioning. Histaminergic drugs might prove beneficial for people suffering from memory impairment. To determine if histamine is involved in memory functioning this study evaluates the effects of histaminergic dysfunction on memory performance by administrating a H(1)-antagonist to humans. The study was conducted according to a 4-way, double-blind, crossover design in 20 healthy female volunteers, aged 18-45 years. On each test day subjects completed three test sessions: before and around 2 and 4 h after administration of single oral doses of dexchlorpheniramine 2 mg or 4 mg, scopolamine 1 mg or placebo. Drug effects were assessed using tests of memory, psychomotor and attention performance, and subjective alertness. Results showed that dexchlorpheniramine impaired performance in tests of spatial learning, reaction time, tracking and divided attention but showed no effects on working memory, visual memory, word learning or memory scanning. Scopolamine induced a similar pattern of effects. In addition, both drugs decreased subjective alertness. In conclusion results show that dexchlorpheniramine and scopolamine clearly impaired performance on psychomotor and attention tasks but do not suggest a specific role of the histaminergic system in learning and memory in humans.