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A Sandell

Publications and source records attributed to A Sandell.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Glucose utilisation in the lungs of septic rats.

Sequestration and degranulation of leucocytes in the pulmonary microcirculation is considered to be a key event in the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with sepsis. Glucose serves as the main source of energy in activated leucocytes. The aim of this study was to assess whether glucose utilisation in the lungs can be used as an indicator of pulmonary leucocyte accumulation in an experimental model of sepsis of intra-abdominal origin. Sepsis was induced in rats by abdominal implantation of a gelatine capsule containing bacteria and rat colonic contents. Empty gelatine capsules were implanted in control animals. Animals were studied 6 and 12 h after sepsis induction. Glucose utilisation was measured as the tissue uptake of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)FDG) 1 h after intravenous injection of the tracer. Micro-autoradiography was also performed after injection of tritiated deoxyglucose. We found increased uptake of (18)FDG in the lungs of septic animals. The uptake also increased with time after sepsis induction. (18)FDG uptake in circulating leucocytes was increased in septic animals compared with controls, and micro-autoradiography showed intense accumulation of deoxyglucose in leucocytes in the lungs of septic animals. We conclude that glucose utilisation is increased in the lungs of septic rats. Measurements of pulmonary glucose utilisation as an index of leucocyte metabolic activity may open new possibilities for studies of the pathophysiology of sepsis and for evaluation of therapeutic interventions.

Animals↗

An alternative method to normalize clinical FDG studies.

UNLABELLED: An alternative method of determining the integrated input function, necessary in the quantitative [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) autoradiographic model, has been developed. Using erythrocytes as reference tissue, researchers require only one blood sample after injection of FDG to obtain the integrated input function. METHODS: The amount of FDG-6-PO4 in the erythrocytes is proportional to their exposure to FDG, that is, the integrated input function. Free FDG is removed by washing the erythrocytes twice. Inter- and intraindividual differences of the metabolic rate of erythrocytes are corrected for by an in vitro incubation with a known amount of FDG. RESULTS: Validation of the proposed method was done by correlating the integrated input function, based on the glucose metabolism of the erythrocytes, to the integrated input function obtained by multiple venous blood samples. The new method provides the integrated input function with an accuracy better than +/-8%. CONCLUSION: By using erythrocytes as a reference tissue, researchers can determine the integrated input function in the quantitative FDG autoradiographic model with an accuracy sufficient for clinical PET studies. The simplicity of the method also makes it suitable for FDG studies on small children. With two samples, the method can also be used for a simplified graphical Patlak analysis.

Erythrocytes↗

Early prediction of treatment outcome in head and neck cancer with 2-18FDG PET.

The development of alternative treatment regimens in clinical oncology has increased the need for early prediction of cancer therapy outcome. The aim of this study was, early in the treatment phase, to identify patients with advanced head and neck cancer, responding or not responding to initiated therapy. The tumour metabolic rate of glucose (MRgl) examined by 2-18FDG-PET was determined in 17 patients before and after the first weeks of either radiotherapy (16-35 Gy) or one course of combination chemotherapy. Metabolic values uptake values normalized to plasma activity integrals--were correlated to loco-regional outcome, as evaluated 5-6 weeks after completion of treatment. Initial low tumour MRgl (<20 micromol/min/100 g tissue), in primary lesions or regional metastases, predicted a local complete response. When a high initial tumour MRgl was found, the magnitude of the reduction of MRgl in the second PET examination might be an adjunct in predicting local tumour response.

Adult↗

Use of pulse transit time as a measure of inspiratory effort in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Pulse transit time (PTT) is the time taken for the arterial pulse pressure wave to travel from the aortic valve to a peripheral site. For convenience, it is usually measured from the R wave on the electrocardiogram to the pulse wave arrival at the finger. Pulse transit time is inversely proportional to blood pressure, and the falls in blood pressure which occur with inspiration (pulsus paradoxus) correspond to rises (lengthening) in pulse transit time. In awake normal subjects, the size of these inspiratory rises in pulse transit time correlate well with the degree of inspiratory effort. The aim of this study was to investigate whether inspiratory rises in pulse transit time could provide a quantitative measure of inspiratory effort in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. Eight patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, attending the laboratory for institution of nasal continuous positive airway pressure, took part in the study. Once asleep, airway pressure was varied between optimal treatment level and minimum pressure, to produce a range of inspiratory efforts whilst continuous recordings of oesophageal pressure and pulse transit time were made. There was an excellent correlation between the size of the swings in oesophageal pressure and the size of the swings in pulse transit time (mean r = 0.94). Pulse transit time may, therefore, provide a clinically useful noninvasive and quantitative measure of inspiratory effort in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders.

Adult↗

A PET system based on 2-18FDG production with a low energy electrostatic proton accelerator and a dual headed PET scanner.

We have developed a comparatively inexpensive PET system, based on a rotating scanner with two scintillation camera heads, and a nearby low energy electrostatic proton accelerator for production of short-lived radionuclides. Using a 6 MeV proton beam of 5 microA, and by optimization of the target geometry for the 18O(p,n)18F reaction, 750 MBq of 2-18FDG can be obtained. The PET scanner shows a spatial resolution of 6 mm (FWHM) and a sensitivity of 80 s-1kBq-1ml-1 (3 kcps/microCi/ml). Various corrections are included in the imaging process, to compensate for spatial and temporal response variations in the detector system. Both filtered backprojection and iterative reconstruction methods are employed. Clinical studies have been performed with acquisition times of 30-40 min. The system will be used for clinical experimental research with short- as well as long-lived positron emitters. Also the possibility of true 3D reconstruction is under evaluation.

Astrocytoma↗