Evaluation of bone mineral density in premature ovarian failure.

This study was performed to evaluate whether or not early menopause and premature ovarian failure can cause an increased risk of osteoporosis. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the 2nd and 4th lumbar spine as well as femoral neck in 29 cases with secondary amenorrhea were compared with a reference data using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry on a bone densitometer: Serum levels of luteinizing hormone, follicular stimulating hormone, calcium and phosphorus were also measured. Both in 20-29 years and in 30-39 years, BMD were significantly lower than their normal range as compared with a reference data from a large study of the same population (P value<0.05). At lumbar vertebrae, 2 cases had osteopenia and 17 had osteoporosis while at the femoral neck, 17 cases had osteopenia and 4 osteoporosis. Only serum levels of phosphorus had positive relationship with femoral neck BMD (P value<0.05). It may be possible to decrease fracture incidence through the early diagnosis of individuals at risk by BMD. In conclusion, our study indicates that females with early onset of menopause and premature ovarian failure had lower value of BMD in both femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae implying the need for more bone health measures.

The electromagnetic interference of mobile phones on the function of a γ-camera.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether or not the electromagnetic field generated by mobile phones interferes with the function of a SPECT γ-camera during data acquisition. METHODS: We tested the effects of 7 models of mobile phones on 1 SPECT γ-camera. The mobile phones were tested when making a call, in ringing mode, and in standby mode. The γ-camera function was assessed during data acquisition from a planar source and a point source of Tc with activities of 10 mCi and 3 mCi, respectively. A significant visual decrease in count number was considered to be electromagnetic interference (EMI). RESULTS: The percentage of induced EMI with the γ-camera per mobile phone was in the range of 0% to 100%. The incidence of EMI was mainly observed in the first seconds of ringing and then mitigated in the following frames. CONCLUSIONS: Mobile phones are portable sources of electromagnetic radiation, and there is interference potential with the function of SPECT γ-cameras leading to adverse effects on the quality of the acquired images.