No evidence of coronary plaque stabilization by allopurinol in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Allopurinol, a xanthine inhibitor that lowers uric acid concentration, has been proven to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, it is unknown whether these beneficial effects translate into favorable plaque modification in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study aimed to investigate whether allopurinol could improve coronary plaque stabilization using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). METHODS: This was a prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blind clinical trial began in March 2019. A total of 162 ACS patients aged 18-80 years with a blood level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) â€‹> â€‹2 â€‹mg/L were included. The subjects were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either allopurinol sustained-release capsules (at a dose of 0.25 â€‹g once daily) or placebo for 12 months. The plaque analysis was performed at CCTA. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in low-attenuation plaque volume (LAPV) from baseline to the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Among 162 patients, 54 in allopurinol group and 51 in placebo group completed the study. The median follow-up duration was 14 months in both groups. Compared with placebo, allopurinol therapy did not significantly alter LAPV (-13.4 â€‹± â€‹3.7 â€‹% vs. -17.8 â€‹± â€‹3.6 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.390), intermediate attenuation plaque volume (-16.1 â€‹± â€‹3.0 â€‹% vs. -16.2 â€‹± â€‹2.9 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.992), dense calcified plaque volume (12.2 â€‹± â€‹13.7 â€‹% vs. 9.7 â€‹± â€‹13.0 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.894), total atheroma volume (-15.2 â€‹± â€‹3.2 â€‹% vs. -16.4 â€‹± â€‹3.1 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.785), remodeling index (2.0 â€‹± â€‹3.9 â€‹% vs. 5.4 â€‹± â€‹3.8 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.536) or hsCRP levels (-73.6 [-91.6-17.9] % vs. -81.2 [-95.4-47.7] %, p â€‹= â€‹0.286). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that allopurinol does not improve atherosclerotic plaque stability or inflammation in ACS.

[CT imaging characteristics of incomplete and complete myocardial bridges-mural coronary artery].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the CT imaging characteristics of incomplete and complete myocardial bridges-mural coronary artery (MB-MCA). METHODS: Fifty subjects with dual source coronary CT angiography (DSCTA) evidenced MB were included. The subjects were divided into incomplete MB-MCA and complete MB-MCA groups. The diameter of MCA in best systole phase and diastole phase, the MCA stenosis rate, the presence of atheromatous change proximal to the MB were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 58 MB, the average length was (2.02 ± 1.02) cm, 23 were incomplete MB and 35 were complete MB. Thirty-two MB were in the middle segments of left anterior descending artery (55.2%); 17 MB were in the distal segment of the left anterior descending artery (29.3%); 1 MB was in the proximal segment of left anterior descending artery; 3 MB in diagonal branch; 4 MB in obtuse marginal branch, 1 MB in distal right coronary artery. It was statistically significant difference between the incomplete MB-MCA and the complete MB-MCA of the diameter change in diastole and systole phase [(1.93 ± 0.49) mm, (1.71 ± 0.45) mm vs. (2.21 ± 0.41) mm, (1.63 ± 0.52) mm, P = 0.008] and stenosis rate (10.38% ± 20.2% vs. 25.12% ± 21.02%, P = 0.01). Atherosclerotic finding was evidenced in 8 incomplete MB (34.78%) and 15 complete MB (42.86%) at the proximal vessel of mural coronary artery (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: DSCTA can vividly display the incomplete and complete myocardial MB, accurately evaluate the shape change of MB-MCA in diastole and systole phase and detect the atherosclerotic change in the proximal vessel of MB.

Author Correction: Image Quality and Radiation Dose for Prospectively Triggered Coronary CT Angiography: 128-Slice Single-Source CT versus First-Generation 64-Slice Dual-Source CT.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Research Progress in MRI of the Visual Pathway in Diabetic Retinopathy.

With an increasing incidence, diabetic retinopathy is one of the most important complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) and is also known as one of the major reasons of adult acquired blindness. It is widely accepted that the visual impairment of diabetic patients results from retinal microvascular changes. However, recent clinical experimental and neuroimaging studies suggest that the visual impairment of diabetic patients is also related to the pathophysiological changes of different parts of the visual pathway in diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have been widely used for evaluating the microstructural changes, white matter integrity, metabolite changes, and the whole or partial functional and anatomic changes in the diabetic retinopathy patients' brains in order to fully understand the mechanism of vision loss of the diabetic retinopathy patients. This review focuses on the research progress in application of MRI of the visual pathway in diabetic retinopathy.

Application value of magnetic resonance sequences in diagnosis of early spinal metastatic tumor.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of different magnetic resonance (MR) pulse sequences in diagnosis of spinal metastatic tumor. METHODS: Fifteen patients with clinically suspected spinal metastatic tumor were included in this study. These patients were with documented primary tumors. Four MR pulse sequences, T1-weighted spin echo (T1WI SE), T2-weighted fast spin echo (T2WI FSE), short time inversion recovery (STIR), and gradient echo 2-D multi echo data imaging combination (GE Me-2D) were used to detect spinal metastasis. RESULTS: Fifteen vertebral bodies were entire involvement, 38 vertebral bodies were section involvement, and totally 53 vertebral bodies were involved. There were 19 focal infections in pedicle of vertebral arch, 15 metastases in spinous process and transverse process. Fifty-three vertebral bodies were abnormal in T1 WI SE and GE Me-2D, 35 vertebral bodies were found abnormal in T2WI FSE, and 50 vertebral bodies were found abnormal in STIR. The verges of focal signal of involved vertebral bodies were comparatively clear in T1WI SE, comparatively clear or vague in T2WI FSE, vague in STIR, and clear in GE Me-2D. CONCLUSIONS: GE Me-2D may be the most sensitive technique to detect metastases. So three sequences (T1WI SE, T2WI FSE, GE Me-2D) can demonstrate the early changes of spinal metastasis roundly.

Findings of chest radiograph and spiral computed tomography in Swyer-James syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of X-ray and spiral computed tomography (SCT) in the diagnosis of Swyer-James syndrome (SJS). METHODS: A total of 28 patients, 12 males and 16 females, were studied retrospectively. Ages ranged from 11 to 57 years, the mean age was 32 years. All patients underwent inspiratory chest X-ray films, 5 with expiratory chest films and 1 with bronchogram. Furthermore, inspiratory and expiratory SCT scans were performed. The SCT findings were analyzed and compared with X-ray films. RESULTS: SCT demonstrated 56 lobes with hyperlucency and diminished vascularity. The size of 51 lobes were smaller and 5 were normal. X-ray films showed that hyperlucency was only in 29 lobes, in which 19 lobes were small-sized and the other 10 lobes normal. There were 56 lobes with air-trapping on expiratory SCT scans, but only 5 lobes with air-trapping on expiratory X-ray films. Bronchogram in 1 case demonstrated bronchiectasis and bronchiolitis obliterans. SCT showed 24 patients with bronchiectasis, 9 patients with tuberculosis, 10 patients with bronchiolitis, and 2 with segmental collapse. CONCLUSION: SCT scan is superior to chest radiography in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of SJS.

Image Quality and Radiation Dose for Prospectively Triggered Coronary CT Angiography: 128-Slice Single-Source CT versus First-Generation 64-Slice Dual-Source CT.

This study sought to compare the image quality and radiation dose of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) from prospectively triggered 128-slice CT (128-MSCT) versus dual-source 64-slice CT (DSCT). The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee at Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Eighty consecutive patients with stable heart rates lower than 70 bpm were enrolled. Forty patients were scanned with 128-MSCT, and the other 40 patients were scanned with DSCT. Two radiologists independently assessed the image quality in segments (diameter >1 mm) according to a three-point scale (1: excellent; 2: moderate; 3: insufficient). The CCTA radiation dose was calculated. Eighty patients with 526 segments in the 128-MSCT group and 544 segments in the DSCT group were evaluated. The image quality 1, 2 and 3 scores were 91.6%, 6.9% and 1.5%, respectively, for the 128-MSCT group and 97.6%, 1.7% and 0.7%, respectively, for the DSCT group, and there was a statistically significant inter-group difference (P ≤ 0.001). The effective doses were 3.0 mSv in the 128-MSCT group and 4.5 mSv in the DSCT group (P ≤ 0.001). Compared with DSCT, CCTA with prospectively triggered 128-MSCT had adequate image quality and a 33.3% lower radiation dose.

Preoperative CT findings of thymoma are correlated with postoperative Masaoka clinical stage.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Both preoperative computed tomography (CT) staging and postoperative surgical Masaoka clinical staging are of great clinical importance for diagnosing thymomas. Our study aimed to investigate the relationships between these two staging systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective review of 129 patients who had undergone thymoma surgery. Helical CT and 16-slice CT were performed preoperatively. Surgical findings were evaluated according to the Masaoka clinical staging system. RESULTS: A significant association was shown between Masaoka clinical staging and CT staging, especially of features including tumor size (P = .004), tumor shape (P < .001), tumor density (P < .001), capsule completeness (P < .001), and involvement of surrounding tissues (P < .001). Based on the CT findings, there were 35.09% of Masaoka stage I patients who had a tumor size <5 cm as compared to 14.81% of stage IV patients. Only 8.77% of Masaoka stage I patients had a tumor size ≥10 cm as compared to 40.74% of stage IV patients. In stages III and IV, most tumors were irregularly shaped with an uneven density and incomplete capsule. Invasive tumors were more frequently found in stages III (81.48%) and IV (88.89%) than in stages I (0%) and II (38.89%). The incidence of myasthenia gravis was comparable in different stages. Consistency between CT and Masaoka clinical stages was higher in stage I (37.98%) than other stages (approximately 10%). CONCLUSION: This study documented a close relationship between preoperative CT thymoma staging and postoperative Masaoka clinical staging. Thus, preoperative CT findings can be beneficial for determining the proper management and prognosis of thymoma patients.

Precision of coaxial needle placement in computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle biopsy.

In the present study, a set of self-designed measurement protocols for the precision of coaxial needle placement (PCNP) was proposed and applied in a computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (TNB) audit of an interventional radiologist to determine if the PCNP was commensurate with the experience of the operator. A total of 102 patients (98 with lung lesions and four with mediastinum lesions) consented to be subjected to CT-guided TNB performed by staff interventional radiologists. The patients were divided into two groups based on appointment date. Group A consisted of the first 51 patients and group B comprised of the latter 51 patients. A set of self-designed measurement protocols for PCNP was proposed, and the PCNP was classified into four grades, from grade 1 (most accurate) to grade 4 (least accurate). PCNPs were independently measured by three staff radiologists who were blind to the grouping. The anatomical features of the lesions were also analyzed between the two groups. A significant difference in the PCNP gained after the first needle placement was identified between the two groups (P=0.003, two-tailed). The number of patients in group B with grade I PCNP (51.0%) was significantly higher than that in group A (21.6%) (P<0.05). The number of patients in group B with grade III PCNP (11.8%) was significantly lower than that in group A (29.4%, P<0.05). The PCNP was observed to be commensurate with the experience of the operator and should be considered as a routine audit index in CT-guided TNB.

Dynamic enhancement patterns of solitary pulmonary nodules at multi-detector row CT and correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor and microvessel density.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of malignant solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) from benign ones is difficult based on imaging manifestations. This study was to assess dynamic enhancement patterns of SPNs detected with multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT), correlate SPN manifestations of MDCT to the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvessel density (MVD), thus to explore the potential value of MDCT imaging in the diagnosis of SPNs. METHODS: Fifty pathologically and one clinically confirmed patients with SPNs (diameter