Circulating adipocytokines in non-diabetic and Type 1 diabetic children: relationship to insulin therapy, glycaemic control and pubertal development.

AIM: To determine the influence of Type 1 diabetes mellitus on circulating adipocytokines in children. METHODS: The circulating concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, resistin and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha were measured in 91 children, aged 11.1 +/- 2.7 years, with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Ninety-one healthy children were selected as control subjects. RESULTS: Body mass index-adjusted leptin concentrations were higher in the pubertal diabetic children compared with the control children. There was a significant positive correlation between leptin and daily insulin dose in the diabetic group. Circulating adiponectin concentrations were higher in the prepubertal diabetic children and were positively associated with HbA(1c). Resistin concentrations were lower in the prepubertal non-diabetic subjects compared with the pubertal non-diabetic children, whose values were higher than those of the diabetic children. TNF-alpha concentrations were similar in non-diabetic and diabetic children. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating concentrations of adipocytokines are abnormal in Type 1 diabetic children, although the direction of change differs by cytokine. Pubertal development, in addition to insulin treatment and glycaemic control, also influences the concentrations.     

颈静脉球瘤的MR诊断

目的探讨MR检查在颈静脉球瘤诊断中的应用价值。方法对15例病变进行回顾性分析,重点分析其部位、信号及其侵袭性表现等情况。结果15例患者中,右侧病变8个(8/15),左侧7个(7/15);肿瘤形态为类圆形或不规则形,12例较大病变不同程度侵犯颈静脉孔区、乳突、岩骨、岩尖、斜坡等处骨质;肿瘤信号欠均匀,12个(12/15)肿块在MR平扫出现“盐和胡椒征”,以“胡椒”表现最为显著;13个肿块(13/13)均有明显强化,其中10个肿块出现“盐和胡椒征”。9例行MRA检查,颈内动脉和颈内静脉不同程度移位和包绕。结论根据肿瘤的部位、“盐和胡椒征”等MR表现,可在手术前正确诊断颈静脉球瘤。     

Myocardial perfusion imaging and cardiac events in a cohort of asymptomatic patients with diabetes living in southern France.

AIMS: To assess the association between abnormal stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and cardiac events (CE) in asymptomatic patients with diabetes and with > or = 1 additional risk factor. Predictors of abnormal stress MPI were also evaluated. METHODS: Four hundred and forty-seven consecutive patients who underwent stress MPI were prospectively followed for 2.1 [0.5-4.1] years for the subsequent occurrence of hard CE (myocardial infarction and sudden or coronary death) and soft CE (unstable angina and ischaemic heart failure requiring hospitalization). Re-vascularization procedures performed as a result of the screening protocol were not included in the analysis. RESULTS: Follow-up was successful in 419 of 447 patients (94%), of whom 71 had abnormal MPI at baseline. Medical therapy was intensified in all subjects and especially in those with abnormal MPI. Twenty-three patients with abnormal MPI underwent a re-vascularization procedure. CEs occurred in 14 patients, including six of 71 patients (8.5%) with abnormal MPI and eight of 348 patients (2.3%) with normal MPI (P < 0.005). Only two patients developed a hard CE and 12 a soft CE. In multivariate analysis, abnormal MPI was the strongest predictor for CEs [odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) = 5.6 (1.7-18.5)]. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > or = 3.35 mmol/l [OR (95% CI) = 7.3; 1.5-34.7] and age > median [OR (95% CI) = 6.0 (1.2-28.6)] were additional independent predictors for CE. The independent predictors for abnormal MPI were male gender, plasma triglycerides > or = 1.70 mmol/l, creatinine clearance < 60 ml/min and HbA1c > 8%, with male gender the strongest [OR (95% CI) = 4.0 (1.8-8.8)]. CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic patients with diabetes in this study had a very low hard cardiac event rate over an intermediate period. This could be explained by the effects of intervention or by the low event rate in the background population. Randomized studies of cardiac heart disease screening are required in asymptomatic subjects with diabetes to determine the effectiveness of this intervention.     

Large colloid cyst in lateral ventricle simulating brain tumour

Summary This case report describes a patient presenting with symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, whose computerized tomographic (CT) scan was highly suggestive of a large low-grade glioma invading the basal ganglia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a well-demarcated space-occupying mass of increased intensity in the left lateral ventricle and adjacent white matter. Following stereotactic biopsy, which yielded a homogeneous jelly-like material, the mass was removed microsurgically and was found to be most like a colloid cyst on histological examination. Discussion focusses on the clinical and differential diagnostic implications of this very unusual combination of findings.     

Retroperitoneal foregut cyst

A foregut cyst is formed as a result of abnormal budding and pinching of the tracheobronchial tree when bronchial buds develop to form the primitive respiratory tree. Foregut cysts are clinically classified as bronchogenic, esophageal, enterogastric, or ciliated hepatic. We present a foregut cyst that occurred in the retroperitoneum and was difficult to distinguish from other retroperitoneal cystic mass lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging was useful in revealing the cyst's continuity to adjacent organs. Received: 19 June 1995/Accepted: 23 July 1995     

The Relationship Between Quantitative MRI and Neuropsychological Functioning in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Summary: Purpose: Quantitative MRI techniques provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine in vivo the relationship between the extent and laterality of hippocampal pathology and associated neuropsychological deficits. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between quantitative measures of hippocampal pathology and neuropsychological measures, using a multivariate approach. Methods: We examined the relationship between two MRI measures of hippocampal structure; hippocampal volumes (HCvol) and T2 relaxation times (HCT2), and memory performance, in 80 presurgical temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Results: As a group, patients with left hippocampal sclerosis (LHS) performed more poorly that those with right hippocampal sclerosis (RHS) on immediate and delayed prose recall. In the group as a whole, right hippocampal volume was significantly correlated with the delayed recall of a complex figure. None of the verbal memory test scores were significantly correlated with the right or left HCvol or HCT2 measures. However, stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that up to a third of the variation in specific test scores could be explained by the quantitative MRI hippocampal measures in conjunction with chronological age, and age at onset of habitual epilepsy. Left hippocampal measures explained 24% of the variance in the story-recall tasks, while right hippocampal measures explained 18% of the variance in a design-learning task and 32% of the variance in a figure-recall task. Conclusions: Our results provide some support for the lateralised model of material specific memory deficits, but suggest that a number of demographic and epilepsy-related factors may interact with the extent and laterality of hippocampal pathology in shaping the nature of the associated neuropsychological deficit.     

Analysis of the epsilon-sarcoglycan gene in familial and sporadic myoclonus-dystonia: evidence for genetic heterogeneity.

The epsilon-sarcoglycan gene (SGCE) on human chromosome 7q21 has been reported to be a major locus for inherited myoclonus-dystonia. Linkage to the SGCE locus has been detected in the majority of families tested, and mutations in the coding region have been found recently in families with autosomal dominant myoclonus-dystonia. To evaluate the relevance of SGCE in myoclonus-dystonia, we sequenced the entire coding region of the epsilon-sarcoglycan gene in 16 patients with either sporadic or familial myoclonus-dystonia. No mutations were found. This study suggests that epsilon-sarcoglycan does not play an important role in sporadic myoclonus-dystonia and supports genetic heterogeneity in familial cases.     

Efficacy of piribedil as early combination to levodopa in patients with stable Parkinson's disease: a 6-month, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Piribedil is a non-ergot D2/D3 agonist with a significant antagonist action on alpha2A and alpha2C adrenergic receptor subtypes. This double-blind placebo-controlled study was undertaken to confirm the efficacy of 150 mg/day piribedil po in improving motor symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) in nonfluctuating patients insufficiently controlled by a stable daily dose of levodopa (L-dopa). Efficacy was assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) III score as primary criterion over 4 months. A second comparison was planned at 6 months, after possible adjustment of L-dopa. At 4 months, the rate of response, defined as a 30% decrease from baseline on UPDRS III score, was significantly greater with piribedil compared with placebo (56.4% vs. 37.7%; P = 0.040). At 6 months, the better efficacy of piribedil was maintained (61.8% of responders vs. 39.6% on placebo; P = 0.020). The difference between groups on UPDRS III change from baseline reached statistical significance only at 6 months: -10.0 points in the piribedil group vs. -6.7 points in the placebo group (P = 0.037). Secondary end-points were not significantly different. The most frequently reported adverse events were gastrointestinal symptoms (27 of 61 patients in the piribedil group vs. 13 of 54 patients in the placebo group). In conclusion, a 6-month oral administration of 150 mg/day piribedil in combination with L-dopa is well tolerated, except for minor gastrointestinal symptoms at the beginning of the treatment and significantly improves motor symptoms compared with placebo in PD nonfluctuating patients.     

Lhermitte-Duclos disease (dysplastic gangliocytoma of the cerebellum)

Summary The authors report the third published case of a Lhermitte-Duclos disease diagnosed preoperatively with the help of MRI, stressing its possible extension beyond the limits of the posterior fossa. The pertinent literature is reviewed concerning the clinical and radiological picture of this disease, as well as the different pathogenic hypothesis.     

Minimizing macrovessel signal in cerebral perfusion imaging using independent component analysis.

The pronounced susceptibility effect of macrovessels in MR bolus-tracking studies induces spots of artificially high blood flow and volume in perfusion parameter images. These high-intensity regions impede the detection of perfusion changes and lead to elevated perfusion parameters in adjacent tissues. The purpose of this work was to explore postprocessing methods to reduce the influence of macrovessel signal in dynamic MRI. After data reduction was performed with the use of a principal component analysis (PCA), an independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to separate signal components of different compartments. Based on this decomposition, the dynamic time series were reconstructed with minimized contributions of macrovessel signal and noise. The influence of the temporal resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the source data were investigated by means of a simulation study. A region-of-interest (ROI)-based analysis of corrected and uncorrected in vivo data demonstrated that the influence of arteries and veins was reduced at least by 50%, while gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) tissues were nearly unaffected by the correction process. Hemodynamic parameter images of the cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and mean transit time (MTT) were calculated from corrected and uncorrected scans. The corrected parameter images showed a clearly reduced macrovessel signal and an improved perceptibility of microvascular perfusion changes compared to the uncorrected ones.