Endovascular management of visceral artery aneurysms: When to watch,when to intervene?

Visceral artery aneurysms (VAA) include splanchnic and renal artery aneurysms. They represent a rare clinical entity, although their detection is rising due to an increased use of cross-sectional imaging. Rupture is the most devastating complication, and is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. In addition, increased percutaneous endovascular interventions have raised the incidence of iatrogenic visceral artery pseudoaneurysms (VAPAs). For this reason, elective repair is preferable in the appropriately chosen patient. Controversy still exists regarding their treatment. Over the past decade, there has been steady increase in the utilization of minimally invasive, non-operative interventions, for vascular aneurysmal disease. All VAAs and VAPAs can technically be fixed by endovascular techniques but that does not mean they should. These catheter-based techniques constitute an excellent approach in the elective setting. However, in the emergent setting it may carry a higher morbidity and mortality. The decision for intervention has to take into account the size and the natural history of the lesion, the risk of rupture, which is high during pregnancy, and the relative risk of surgical or radiological intervention. For splanchnic artery aneurysms, we should recognize that we are not, in reality, well informed about their natural history. For most asymptomatic aneurysms, expectant treatment is acceptable. For large, symptomatic or aneurysms with a high risk of rupture, endovascular treatment has become the first-line therapy. Treatment of VAPAs is always mandatory because of the high risk of rupture. We present our point of view on interventional radiology in the splanchnic arteries, focusing on what has been achieved and the remaining challenges.     

等离子射频辅助双侧声带后端切断术治疗双侧声带麻痹导致的上气道梗阻患者13例

目的 评估内镜下等离子射频辅助双侧声带后端切断术治疗双侧声带麻痹导致上气道梗阻患者的疗效。 方法 回顾性分析13例双侧声带麻痹导致的上气道梗阻患者的病例资料,其中男6例、女7例,27~73岁,所有患者均接受等离子射频辅助双侧声带后端切断术。总结评估该手术的临床疗效。 结果 13例随访时间1年1个月~2年11个月,所有患者无严重并发症发生。一次拔管率为84.44%(10/13),二次手术拔管率为88.89%(11/13),拔管时间1~3个月,中位数1个月,上气道梗阻均未复发。 结论 内镜下等离子射频辅助双侧声带切断术操作简单、手术风险小,同时治疗双侧声带麻痹效果可靠,是双侧声带麻痹导致上气道梗阻的有效治疗方法之一,也可作为其他治疗失败的补救治疗措施。     

Quantification of vessel-specific coronary perfusion territories using minimum-cost path assignment and computed tomography angiography: Validation in a swine model

BackgroundAs combined morphological and physiological assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) is necessary to reliably resolve CAD severity, the objective of this study was to validate an automated minimum-cost path assignment (MCP) technique which enables accurate, vessel-specific assignment of the left (LCA) and right (RCA) coronary perfusion territories using computed tomography (CT) angiography data for both left and right ventricles.MethodsSix swine were used to validate the MCP technique. In each swine, a dynamic acquisition comprised of twenty consecutive volume scans was acquired with a 320-slice CT scanner following peripheral injection of contrast material. From this acquisition the MCP technique was used to automatically assign LCA and RCA perfusion territories for the left and right ventricles, independently. Each animal underwent another dynamic CT acquisition following direct injection of contrast material into the LCA or RCA. Using this acquisition, reference standard LCA and RCA perfusion territories were isolated from the myocardial blush. The accuracy of the MCP technique was evaluated by quantitatively comparing the MCP-derived LCA and RCA perfusion territories to these reference standard territories.ResultsAll MCP perfusion territory masses (Mass_MCP) and all reference standard perfusion territory masses (Mass_RS) in the left ventricle were related by Mass_MCP = 0.99Mass_RS+0.35 g (r = 1.00). Mass_MCP and Mass_RS in the right ventricle were related by Mass_MCP = 0.94Mass_RS+0.39 g (r = 0.96).ConclusionThe MCP technique was validated in a swine animal model and has the potential to be used for accurate, vessel-specific assignment of LCA and RCA perfusion territories in both the left and right ventricular myocardium using CT angiography data.     

The link between radiofrequencies emitted from wireless technologies and oxidative stress

Wireless communication such as cellular telephones and other types of handheld phones working with frequencies of 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2450 MHz have been increasing rapidly. Therefore, public opinion concern about the potential human health hazards of short and long-term effect of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation. Oxidative stress is a biochemical condition, which is defined by the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the anti-oxidative defense. In this review, we evaluated available in vitro and in vivo studies carried out on the relation between RF emitted from mobile phones and oxidative stress. The results of the studies we reviewed here indicated that mobile phones and similar equipment or radars can be thought as a factor, which cause oxidative stress. Even some of them claimed that oxidative stress originated from radiofrequencies can be resulted with DNA damage. For this reason one of the points to think on is relation between mobile phones and oxidative stress. However, more performance is necessary especially on human exposure studies.     

B超引导经皮肝穿射频治疗肝癌24例临床研究

目的探讨肝癌患者实施经皮肝穿射频治疗的效果。方法回顾性分析2006年11月～2011年1月本院24例肝脏恶性肿瘤患者行B超引导经皮肝穿射频治疗的临床资料。结果24例患者中，16例患者15min吲哚靛青绿储留率（ICGR15）〈10％，5例10％～20％之间，3例〉20％；甲胎蛋白提示阳性患者经治疗后转为阴性的有75．0％，呈明显下降的有25．0％；CT复查显示肿瘤缩小，完全凝固性的坏死率是87．5％。结论对于肝癌患者，尤其是重度肝硬化、肝功能较差、不耐手术、术后复发者，实施RF治疗不仅创伤小，而且方便、安全，疗效确切，应予临床合理推广。     

Three-Dimensional Model-Based Segmentation in Echocardiography Using High Temporal Tissue and Blood Flow Information

Accurate 3-D surface segmentation is a challenging task in echocardiography because of the relatively low image quality. We introduce a new method for 3-D segmentation of the endocardium involving temporal decorrelation of echo signals originating from tissue and blood using radiofrequency (RF) signals acquired in 3-D Doppler mode. Temporal features were extracted in 3-D Doppler mode, where a sequence of RF lines is recorded for each image line. Each set of RF lines is highly correlated because of the high pulse repetition frequency. However, for high blood flow, the RF signals will decorrelate over time in contrast to the endocardium, which will remain relatively highly correlated over time. These decorrelation features permit differentiation between myocardial tissue and blood flow. We describe an implementation of a 3-D segmentation model in which temporal information is used as external constraint. The model was validated in a phantom and in vivo in healthy volunteers (n = 5). The phantom study revealed that the model successfully segmented the artificial blood lumen even for low flow velocity and illustrated the sensitivity of the segmentations to flow rate. In healthy volunteers, high Dice similarity indices indicate that 3-D segmentation of the endocardial border in vivo is feasible.     

微创技术在口腔颌面血管畸形中的应用效果观察

目的 探讨微创技术在口腔颌面血管畸形中的应用效果.方法 选择本院2010年8月～2013年4月收治的口腔颌面血管畸形患者90例,随机分为Ⅰ组30例,Ⅱ组30例,Ⅲ组30例,Ⅰ组以CDU引导行PYM注射微创治疗,Ⅱ组以DSA介导行SAE微创治疗,Ⅲ组为SAE与PYM行联合微创治疗,比较3组的治疗效果.结果 Ⅲ组的总有效率为90.0％,分别高于Ⅰ、Ⅱ组的70.0％和73.3％,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;Ⅰ、Ⅱ组的总有效率比较差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）.结论 采取SAE与PYM行联合微创技术治疗口腔颌面血管畸形,安全有效,治疗程度简单,能有效降低组织创伤,提高患者治疗有效率.