[The erroneous diagnosis].

Exact surgical planning is necessary for complex operations of pathological changes in anatomical structures of the pediatric abdomen. 3D visualization and computer-assisted operational planning based on CT data are being increasingly used for difficult operations in adults. To minimize radiation exposure and for better soft tissue contrast, sonography and MRI are the preferred diagnostic methods in pediatric patients. Because of manifold difficulties 3D visualization of these MRI data has not been realized so far, even though the field of embryonal malformations and tumors could benefit from this.A newly developed and modified raycasting-based powerful 3D volume rendering software (VG Studio Max 1.2) for the planning of pediatric abdominal surgery is presented. With the help of specifically developed algorithms, a useful surgical planning system is demonstrated. Thanks to the easy handling and high-quality visualization with enormous gain of information, the presented system is now an established part of routine surgical planning.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2006

Combined effects of high-fat feeding and circadian desynchronization.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether circadian desynchronization leads to metabolic alterations capable of promoting dietary obesity and/or impairing glucose tolerance. DESIGN: Rats fed either with chow pellets (i.e., low-fat diet with 4% mass of fat) or high-fat diet (34% mass of fat). Half of each diet group was exposed to a fixed light-dark cycle or to a 10-h weekly shift in the light-dark cycle from Thursday to Sunday (20 shifts). To enforce the shifted animals to be active at unusual times of the day, food was available only during the daily dark period for all groups. RESULTS: Shifting the light-dark cycle on a weekly basis was efficient to induce circadian desynchronization, as evidenced by strong disturbances in the daily expression of locomotor activity. Shifted rats fed with a nocturnal low-fat diet had lower plasma insulin and similar blood glucose compared to rats fed with the same diet under a fixed light-dark cycle. Nocturnal high-fat feeding led to an abdominal fat overload associated with increased plasma leptin and basal glucose. These metabolic changes were not significantly modified by circadian desynchronization. CONCLUSION: Chronic desynchronization with low-fat diet impaired insulin regulation. Metabolic changes induced by the high-fat diet were not aggravated by chronic desynchronization.

Abdomen↗