Lymphoscintigraphic appraisal of the lower limbs after liposuction.

BACKGROUND: The trauma resulting from liposuction damages the subcutaneous cellular tissue and subsequently the lymphatic structures. In turn, this damage can reduce lymphatic drainage, which may or may not appear clinically as some degree of edema. OBJECTIVE: It is possible to evaluate the function of the lymphatic system using lymphoscintigraphy. We conducted a study to evaluate the lymphatic system using this technique both before and after liposuction of the lower limbs. METHODS: The study included seven women ranging from 18 to 42 years of age, all of whom were diagnosed with lipodystrophy solely in the lateral and medial regions of the upper third of the thighs. This study was conducted in three stages: preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, liposuction, and postoperative lymphoscintigraphy three months postoperatively. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for the statistical analysis of the results. RESULTS: A comparison of values for the average time of the radiopharmaceutical acquisition curve and clearance in the areas of lymphoscintigraphic interest both before and three months after liposuction did not reveal significant results. CONCLUSIONS: A comparison of preoperative and postoperative lymphoscintigraphic findings showed no significant damage to the lymphatic system associated with liposuction of the lower limbs.

Dopamine transporter shown by SPECT in patients with periodic leg movement after acute physical exercise.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate dopamine transporter (DAT) density in patients with periodic leg movement (PLM) shown by [(99mt)Tc]TRODAT-1 single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging and to determine the influence of acute physical exercise (maximal exercise test [MET]) on DAT densities. METHODS: Sixteen healthy male volunteers between 45 and 65 yr of age were selected to participate in the study. Each subject (eight subjects in the control group and eight subjects in the patients with PLM experimental group) underwent baseline polysomnography (PSG) to evaluate sleep patterns and PLM index values. After obtaining PSG baselines, SPECT baselines were determined using [(99mt)Tc]TRODAT-1, a selective DAT imaging ligand. Subsequently, the volunteers performed the MET in the morning, followed by a SPECT 2 h later and PSG that night to assess the effect of acute physical exercise on DAT and sleep patterns. RESULTS: The baseline SPECT results showed marginally significantly lower DAT densities in the striatal region of the experimental group. After the MET, no significant differences were observed between groups. The results also showed a significant reduction in the PLM index in the experimental group and a significantly increased percentage of stage 1 non-REM sleep in both groups after MET. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that patients with PLM had a marginally lower DAT density in the left putamen region compared with the control group. Although the effect of acute physical exercise (MET) reduced PLM symptoms, the results suggest that this improvement was not due to DAT availability.