Detection of choroid plexus carcinoma with Tc-99m sestamibi: case report and review of the literature.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Kloiber.
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To understand more fully the early bone changes in an experimental model of osteoarthrosis, we quantified periarticular bone mineral density and bone mechanical properties in anterior cruciate ligament transected (ACLX) knee joints (4, 10, 32, and 39 wk post-ACLX) compared with contralateral joints and unoperated normal joints of skeletally mature animals. Maximal stress and energy were significantly reduced in ACLX cancellous bone from the medial femoral condyles at 4 wk postinjury. All mechanical properties (e.g., yield stress and elastic modulus) declined after 4 wk and were significantly reduced at 10 wk. ACLX bone mineral density was significantly reduced at all measured time points. Ash content was significantly reduced at 10 and 32 wk. Changes in the lateral condyles were similar but less pronounced than in the medial condyles. These bony changes accompanied the earliest articular cartilage molecular changes and preceded changes in the articular cartilage gross morphology. We suggest that these early changes in bone mechanical behavior contribute to the progression of osteoarthrosis and pathogenic changes in the joint.
UNLABELLED: Coregistration of images from a single subject, acquired by different modalities, is important in clinical diagnosis, surgery and therapy planning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, using a physical torso phantom, a novel, fully automated method for three-dimensional image registration of CT and SPECT, using radionuclide transmission (RNT) attenuation maps. METHODS: We obtained CT scans and SPECT scans paired with RNT maps of an anthropomorphic cardiac phantom. RNT attenuation maps were acquired using an uncollimated 99mTc-filled flood source. RNT and SPECT scans were acquired in the same spatial orientation (usual clinical practice in nonuniform attenuation correction). In addition, CT attenuation maps (CTMAPs) for 99mTc SPECT were generated from CT by linear energy scaling. RNT maps were registered to CT and CTMAPs by iterative simplex minimization of count difference and uniformity index (sum of RNT map intensity variances corresponding to each intensity level in the CT volume). In each iteration, three shifts and three angles were adjusted. To register SPECT to CT, we applied the RNT transformation parameters to SPECT. RESULTS: RNT maps could be registered to CT and CTMAP images using both criteria. The average three-dimensional distance between landmark and automated registration was 2.5 +/- 1.2 mm for count difference and 3.3 +/- 1.3 mm for uniformity index. The three-dimensional reproducibility errors were 1.2 +/- 0.7 mm for count difference, 2.1 +/- 0.5 mm for uniformity index and 2.3 +/- 1.0 mm for manual marker registration. The minimization of uniformity index was robust when up to 50% CT or RNT slices were missing and was not affected significantly (<2 mm) by realistic variation in CT values (+/- 12 Hounsfield units). CONCLUSION: In addition to typical use in nonuniform attenuation correction, RNT maps can be used for fully automated three-dimensional registration of SPECT to CT. Such registration is not affected by features and quality of SPECT images and avoids difficulties associated with fiducial markers. Our method can be applied to SPECT-CT registration of various organs, such as brain, heart, lungs, breasts and abdomen, including oncological scans.
Photon attenuation is one of the primary causes of artifacts in cardiac single photon emission tomography (SPET). Several attenuation correction algorithms have been proposed. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of using the ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) reconstruction algorithm and Chang's non-uniform attenuation correction method on quantitative cardiac SPET. We performed SPET scans of an anthropomorphic phantom simulating normal and abnormal myocardial studies. Attenuation maps of the phantom were obtained from computed tomographic images. The SPET projection data were corrected for attenuation using OSEM reconstruction, as well as Chang's method. For each defect scan and attenuation correction method, we calculated three quantitative parameters: average radial maximum (ARM) ratio of the defect-to-normal area, maximum defect contrast (MDC) and defect volume, using automated three-dimensional quantitation. The differences between the two methods were less than 4% for defect-to-normal ARM ratio, 19% for MDC and 13% for defect volume. These differences are within the range of estimated statistical variation of SPET. The calculation times of the two methods were comparable. For all SPET studies, OSEM attenuation correction gave a more correct activity distribution, with respect to both the homogeneity of the radiotracer and the shape of the cardiac insert. The difference in uniformity between OSEM and Chang's method was quantified by segmental analysis and found to be less than 8% for the normal study. In conclusion, OSEM and Chang's attenuation correction are quantitatively equivalent, with comparable calculation times. OSEM reconstruction gives a more correct activity distribution and is therefore preferred.
Systemic administration of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) has been shown to be promising against certain metastatic cancers. However, major side effects, such as pulmonary edema, have limited its widespread use. Although this pulmonary edema has been attributed to a vascular leak syndrome, this hypothesis has not been verified in humans. The purpose of our study was to determine both the severity and mechanism of pulmonary edema in seven patients treated with rIL-2. The severity of edema was assessed by daily evaluation of chest radiographs, using a semiquantitative scale, as well as by repeated measurements of the alveolar-to-arterial oxygen gradient (A-aDO2) in each patient. To determine the mechanism of pulmonary edema, we serially measured in each patient the lung clearance of technetium 99m-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) 99mTc-DTPA), the plasma levels of Von Willebrand factor antigen, and the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP). Our results show that there was a gradual increase in the chest radiography edema score that was paralleled by a significant increase in A-aDO2 over its baseline value. During rIL-2 treatment, 99mTc-DTPA clearance was augmented, and the plasma concentration of Von Willebrand factor antigen was elevated. PCWP climbed from 7 to 14 mm Hg and serum total protein fell from 66.1 to 42.1 gm/L. The results obtained indicate that although pulmonary edema associated with rIL-2 treatment is partially dependent on increased permeability of the lung, changes in hydrostatic and oncotic forces may be the principal determinants of edema development.
Porous hydroxyapatite spheres are an ideal prosthetic device for orbital implantation because they are incorporated into soft tissues. Once vascularized, an eye prosthesis can be coupled to the sphere by a peg placed within a central motility hole. This hole should not be drilled while the sphere is avascular because of the risk of infection. Radionuclide scanning with Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate has been used to assess implant vascular ingrowth because radiophosphonate deposition within the sphere parallels vascularization. Using this technique, the authors examined the hydroxyapatite implants of 15 patients 6 months following insertion. Results showed that complete vascularization is best defined by planar imaging rather than SPECT. While the relative intensity of implant activity may be an important feature, uniformity of activity is probably more significant.
Fifty-one patients had iliopelvic lymphoscintigraphy (IPL) as part of the initial assessment of newly diagnosed prostate carcinoma over a 3-year period. Investigations other than IPL showed that all patients had disease confined to the prostate, and they received radiotherapy to the prostate and regional pelvic lymph nodes. Patients with complete absence of activity in an iliac chain on IPL were excluded from the analysis because that finding could have resulted from tumor replacement or a failed injection. Of the remaining 41 patients, 12 had abnormal scintigrams, and 6 (50%) had recurrence within a mean 15-month follow-up period. Of 29 patients with normal scintigrams, 26 (90%) remain disease free over an average 27-month follow-up period.
Radiologic criteria for the diagnosis of gallbladder disease largely rest on the detection of calculi. Surgeons are reluctant to do a cholecystectomy in patients with symptoms of gallbladder disease if the results of sonography or cholecystography are normal. Consequently these patients are often left with no satisfactory treatment. Such patients may have chronic acalculous cholecystitis, partial obstruction of the cystic duct, or gallbladder dyskinesia. Increasing evidence indicates that at least some of these patients have decreased gallbladder emptying in response to a stimulus such as a test meal or cholecystokinin. Impaired emptying shown by cholecystokinin cholescintigraphy may be useful for predicting which patients with typical biliary-type pain but no evidence of calculi will be cured by cholecystectomy.
The fate of mercury (Hg) released from dental "silver" amalgam tooth fillings into human mouth air is uncertain. A previous report about sheep revealed uptake routes and distribution of amalgam Hg among body tissues. The present investigation demonstrates the bodily distribution of amalgam Hg in a monkey whose dentition, diet, feeding regimen, and chewing pattern closely resemble those of humans. When amalgam fillings, which normally contain 50% Hg, are made with a tracer of radioactive 203Hg and then placed into monkey teeth, the isotope appears in high concentration in various organs and tissues within 4 wk. Whole-body images of the monkey revealed that the highest levels of Hg were located in the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, and jaw. The dental profession's advocacy of silver amalgam as a stable tooth restorative material is not supported by these findings.
Patients with chronic right upper quadrant pain who do not have gallstones on ultrasound or cholecystography are often referred for surgery for presumed acalculous chronic cholecystitis. We followed 26 patients who had cholecystokinin (CCK) cholescintigraphy for evaluation of chronic right upper quadrant pain without demonstrable gallstones on ultrasound who underwent cholecystectomy so that it could be determined whether there was any relation between a low ejection fraction (EF), morphological features of chronic cholecystitis, and clinical outcome. Eighteen patients (69%) were considered therapeutic successes, whereas eight (31%) were failures after an average 2-yr follow-up. Both patient groups had significantly reduced EF: the successful group at 0.39 and the failures at 0.25. Thus, a low EF did not predict clinical outcome, since the failure group had an even lower EF than the success group. Seven gallbladders demonstrated chronic acalculous cholecystitis; the average EF of this group was 0.35. The remaining 19 gallbladders were normal, yet also had an EF of 0.35. Thus, decreased EF does not predict the histologic features of chronic cholecystitis without gallstones. The diagnostic value of cholescintigraphy in patients with acalculous right upper quadrant pain is low, probably because this entity represents a variety of processes, including inflammation, gallbladder dysmotility, and the irritable bowel syndrome.
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Mercury (Hg) vapor is released from dental "silver" tooth fillings into human mouth air after chewing, but its possible uptake routes and distribution among body tissues are unknown. This investigation demonstrates that when radioactive 203Hg is mixed with dental Hg/silver fillings (amalgam) and placed in teeth of adult sheep, the isotope will appear in various organs and tissues within 29 days. Evidence of Hg uptake, as determined by whole-body scanning and measurement of isotope in specific tissues, revealed three uptake sites: lung, gastrointestinal, and jaw tissue absorption. Once absorbed, high concentrations of dental amalgam Hg rapidly localize in kidneys and liver. Results are discussed in view of potential health consequences from long-term exposure to Hg from this dental material.
Cerebrospinal fluid-ventriculoperitoneal shunts are often used in the treatment of hydrocephalus in children. Many complications can arise that may lead to shunt malfunction, including detachment of the distal limb of the shunt. A case is presented where such a complication occurred with distal migration of the detached tubing into the abdomen, which resulted in a patent subcutaneous tract through which cerebrospinal fluid could drain. The need for radiographic correlation at the time of radionuclide shuntography is stressed.
To test the hypothesis that scans with technetium-99m pyrophosphate (Tc-99m-PPi) are positive when performed early after successful thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 16 consecutive patients with AMI who received thrombolytic therapy within 5 hours after the onset of chest pain were studied. Patients were included if chest pain lasted for greater than 30 minutes, was unresponsive to sublingual nitroglycerin and was associated with at least 0.2 mV ST-segment elevation in at least 2 contiguous electrocardiographic leads. All patients received 1.5 million IU of streptokinase intravenously, a mean of 195 +/- 99 minutes after onset of chest pain. Tc-99m-PPi scans and coronary cineangiograms were recorded 491 +/- 156 minutes and 518 +/- 202 minutes, respectively, after the onset of symptoms. Effective reperfusion was present in 10 patients, 6 of whom had positive Tc-99m-PPi scans (sensitivity of 60% to detect reperfusion). Of the 6 patients without effective reperfusion, 3 had positive Tc-99m-PPi scans (specificity of 50%, p greater than 0.05). Analysis of the data using various definitions of effective reperfusion or artery patency yielded similar results. Thus, our findings indicate that early AMI scanning with Tc-99m-PPi does not accurately detect the presence or absence of reperfusion in patients with AMI after treatment with intravenous streptokinase. At this time, coronary cineangiography is the only reliable method to detect reperfusion promptly after thrombolytic therapy.
Five cases of hematogenous osteomyelitis of the ischiopubic synchondrosis (IPS) were encountered among 180 patients with osteomyelitis treated over a 5-year period. Symptoms were poorly localized in all these IPS osteomyelitis patients. The IPS can normally show expansion and irregular mineralization radiographically and focal hyperconcentration of radiophosphates on scintigrams. Findings are frequently asymmetrical negating comparison with the contralateral side. In the cases of osteomyelitis, radiographs were abnormal at the time of presentation in only one of these five cases. In two of the four patients who had radionuclide bone scans, activity at the IPS exceeded that seen in a normal control population, but all showed loss of definition of the IPS and regional increased uptake permitting an early diagnosis.
Fifty patients with recurrent post-cholecystectomy pain underwent hepatobiliary scintigraphy. Time-activity curves were generated from regions of interest over the liver, bile duct, duodenum, and bowel. Patients were divided into obstructed and unobstructed groups with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography criteria. Measurements from the liver, duodenum, and bowel curves contributed little to the analysis. The washout phase of the bile duct curve showed intermittent emptying in both obstructed and unobstructed groups. Less than one-third of peak activity remained in both groups at 90 minutes. Retention fell more rapidly in the later portion of the sequence in patients with obstruction. Quantification was essential, since differences were subtle and could not be appreciated visually. In the absence of hepatocellular disease, the most reliable criterion was the time at which maximal bile duct activity occurred. A cutoff level of 29 minutes or more was used in the diagnosis of obstruction. A sensitivity of 93% with an adequate specificity of 64% and an overall accuracy of 80% was achieved in the prediction of obstruction.
To characterize the sequential changes of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after complete revascularization, 43 patients underwent exercise thallium-201 (201Tl) myocardial perfusion scintigraphy before and at 9 +/- 5 days, 3.3 +/- 0.6, and 6.8 +/- 1.2 months after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Only patients with single-vessel CAD, without previous myocardial infarction, and without evidence of restenosis at 6 to 9 months after PTCA were included. Perfusion scans were analyzed blindly with the use of a new quantitative method to define regional myocardial perfusion in the topographic distribution of each coronary artery, which was shown to be reproducible (r = .94 or higher and SEE of 7% or less, between repeated measures by one and two operators). At 4 to 18 days after PTCA, the mean treadmill walking time increased by 123 +/- 42 sec, mean exercise-induced ST segment depression decreased by 0.6 +/- 0.3 mm, group maximal heart rate increased by 20 +/- 9 beats/min, and group systolic blood pressure at peak exercise increased by 24 +/- 10 mm Hg, compared with pre-PTCA values (p less than .001). However, no group differences were noted in these variables between the three post-PTCA stages. Myocardial perfusion in the distribution of the affected (dilated) coronary artery, on the other hand, improved progressively. In the 45 degree left anterior oblique view for instance, myocardial perfusion increased at 9 days after PTCA (from 68 +/- 24% before PTCA to 91 +/- 9%, p less than .001) and at 3.3 months after PTCA (101 +/- 8%, p less than .05 vs 9 days after PTCA), but no further significant changes were seen at 6.8 months after PTCA (102 +/- 8%). Similar changes were noted in the other two views. No relationship between minor complications during PTCA and delayed improvement on the 201Tl was observed. Myocardial ischemia was diagnosed in 12 of the 43 scans recorded a few days after PTCA, but in none recorded at later stages. We conclude that 201Tl scans after PTCA often show delayed improvement and therefore, an abnormal myocardial perfusion scan soon after PTCA does not necessarily reflect residual coronary stenosis or recurrence.
Radioactive sources of finite volume containing 133Xe, 67Ga, 99Tcm and 111In were used to measure the attenuation coefficient, mu, in water at six different energies in the range 80-296 keV using an Anger camera. The experimental accuracy was about 7% for the volume range from 40-225 ml when corrections were made for background. The same radioactive sources were used to measure zero attenuation count rates per unit of activity. The theoretical basis was also derived, which confirms our experimental findings, i.e. the measurement of the thickness of the attenuator using a dual energy method. The determination of the linear attenuation coefficient in the broad-beam geometry situation is possible by accounting for cross-talk, scatter and out-of-target activity. By correcting for the broad-beam geometry, agreement with the narrow-beam geometry linear attenuation coefficient was obtained. We also demonstrate the use of the technique to accurately determine the depth of the organ using two separate energies. This methodology is independent of the organ volume for determination of the depth. It is hoped that our findings will provide a better understanding of the photon interactions when extended sources are used. Such a knowledge can also be applied to organ volume measurements.