Simple and low-cost tele-nuclear medicine conference system with the e-mail protocol.

PURPOSE: Because of the recent innovative growth in computer technology, digital imaging, and the Internet, we can take advantage of these facilities for education and clinical work in nuclear medicine. We developed a tele-nuclear medicine conference system with electronic mail (e-mail) on the Internet. METHODS: Twenty-one physicians (20 radiologists, 1 neurologist), 6 technologists and 2 medical students in six university hospitals (Japan 5, Canada 1), 5 local hospitals in Japan participated in this project. We used digital still cameras (330 k pixels) equipped with a floppy disk drive and 10 x optical zoom to digitize images with JPEG compression (640 x 480 matrix). The images were attached to e-mail messages (containing a brief description of each case). The mail was sent simultaneously to all members on the mailing list. Scintigram and SPECT images as well as other radiological images were sent by e-mail. Reply mails about each case were sent to all members via the mailing list. RESULTS: During a period of 6 months, 18 cases (tumor/infection: 7, bone: 6, cardiovascular: 1, neurology; 3, endocrine: 1) with 144 e-mails (average 5.6/case) were submitted to the conference. The average period of discussion was 15.6 days. The number of attached images was 1 to 9 (average, 4.2/e-mails). JPEG compression rate was 1/10 to 1/20. The quality of the images was good enough for discussion. Some cases required additional images for further discussion. CONCLUSION: Our tele-nuclear medicine conference with an electronic mailing list and digital camera was simple and low-cost. The conference system was useful for education and clinical work.

Early and delayed Tc-99m ECD brain SPECT in SLE patients with CNS involvement.

We compared early and delayed Tc-99m ECD SPECT scans in 32 SLE patients (Group 1, definite neuropsychiatric disorders; Group 2, minor neurologic symptoms or normal) with those of normal controls by visual inspection and semi-quantitative evaluation. With visual interpretation, 13 out of 14 patients in Group 1 (93%) and 7 out of 18 patients in Group 2 (39%) had diffuse uneven decrease in early scans. Seven patients in Group 2 (39%) who had normal early scans demonstrated focal decrease in the medial frontal lobe in delayed scans. With cerebral region to cerebellar ratios, in early scans, the medial frontal lobe in Group 1 and Group 2 was significantly lower than in normal controls, and lateral frontal lobe and occipital lobes in Group 1 were significantly lower than in normal controls. Nevertheless, in delayed scans, every cortical region except for the parietal lobe in Groups 1 and 2 was significantly lower than in normal controls. The retention rates in all regions in SLE patients were significantly lower than in normal controls. No case showed SPECT improvement on follow-up studies in either group in spite of clinical improvement. Delayed Tc-99m ECD brain SPECT of high sensitivity might be useful in detecting CNS involvement. Although the SPECT findings did not correlate with the neuropsychiatric symptoms, early and delayed Tc-99m ECD SPECT seems to provide useful objective diagnostic information in SLE patients.

Evaluation of asialoglycoprotein receptor imaging agent as a marker of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury and recovery.

Protection of hepatocytes from ischemia-reperfusion injury is a clinically important issue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in acute liver damage and recovery after ischemia-reperfusion in rats with asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) ligand. Ischemia was induced by clamping the hepatoduodenal ligament for 90 min. At 1, 3, 24, 48 hr, 1 and 2 wk after reperfusion, I-125-GSA was injected. Five min after injection, blood samples were obtained and the liver was removed. Several regions from each lobe were dissected, weighed and counted. Mean uptakes (% dose/g) in the liver and blood samples were calculated. Histologic sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) stain showed ischemic damage at 1 and 3 hr, and focal hepatocyte necrosis at 24 hr. Predominant massive necrosis was not seen. The mitotic index with H-E stain and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling index were highest at 1 wk, indicating liver regeneration. At 1 and 3 hr, liver uptake was significantly decreased, and blood uptake was significantly increased, indicating decreased tissue blood flow and ischemic damage. Liver uptake showed significant increases at 48 hr and 1 wk, and was the highest at 1 wk, indicating liver regeneration during the convalescence stage. ASGP-R binding may provide valuable information on ischemia-reperfusion injury and recovery.

DNA-binding properties of the overexpressed recombinant estrogen receptor alpha.

Estrogen receptor alpha was overexpressed in COS-7 cells by transformation of an expression vector with the full length open reading frame of the receptor alpha. The nuclear estradiol-receptor complex and the soluble receptor from the COS-7 cells were cross-linked with an estrogen response element (ERE), which was substituted with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdUVRE), as the receptor dimers by UV irradiation. In gel retardation analysis, the specific bindings of both nuclear and soluble receptors to ERE were decreased with increasing of KCl concentration compared with 0.1 M KCl. The ionic interactions of both receptors with ERE are thought to be similar.

Histochemical and immunohistochemical distribution of glycosaminoglycans, type II collagen, and fibronectin in developing fetal cartilage of congenital osteochondrodysplasia rat (ocd/ocd).

The osteochondrodysplasia rat (ocd/ocd) is a lethal dwarfism. The ocd/ocd shows histological abnormalities of the epiphysis, characterized by a decrease in amount of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the extracellular matrix (ECM). The present study describes histochemical and immunohistochemical distributions of GAGs, type II collagen, and fibronectin (FN) in abnormal humeral cartilage of the ocd/ocd fetuses on days 16-21 of gestation. A wide-spread region with severe necrosis was observed in the cartilage on days 20 and 21. The affected cartilage has small amounts of ECM, irregular columnizations, thinner hypertrophic zones, and expanded and pyknotic chondrocytes on days 16-21 of gestation. The severely expanded chondrocytes did not have cytoplasmic glycogens on days 19-21. Reactions for chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the ECM were consistently lower in ocd/ocd than in +/+ during the entire period of observation, although there were granules immunoreactive to CS within the chondrocytes of ocd/ocd. The distribution of type II collagen seemed normal in relatively normal regions in the affected cartilage. Strong reactions for CS, HA, type II collagen, and FN were present in the necrotic region on days 20 and 21 of gestation. These findings suggest that the affected chondrocyte may have some defects in releasing ECM substances, which may be released by the process of cell rupture. We hypothesize that some defects in releasing processes inherent to the ocd/ocd cartilage may relate to cellular differentiation and cell death.

Basic fibroblast growth factor-like substance in nuclei of male germ cells undergoing meiosis.

The presence of a basic fibroblast growth factor-like immunoreactive substance was demonstrated in the nuclei of germ cells at stages from spermatocyte to spermatid in adult rat testis by using immunohistochemistry with an antibody raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 1-10 of bovine basic fibroblast growth factor [1-146]. The fluorescence was very weak in the nuclei and cytoplasm of spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and most of the interstitial compartments, except for capillary endothelial cells. This is the first study to demonstrate the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor-like immunoreactive material in the nuclei of haploid cells in vivo.

A histological and histochemical study on glycosaminoglycans in epiphysial cartilage of osteochondrodysplasia rat (OCD/OCD).

The osteochondrodysplasia rat, inherited by a single autosomal recessive lethal gene ocd, shows a typical dwarfing syndrome with systemic subcutaneous edema. The skeletal system is most severely affected. The affected neonates are associated with cleft palate, abnormal kidney position and central nerve system malfunction. The present study describes histological and histochemical appearances of the affected epiphysial cartilage. Irregular columnization, thinner hypertrophic zone, swelled chondrocytes, tightly packed chondrocytes with a poor amount of cartilage matrix was found in the affected. The defining characteristic was a wide-spread degenerating area from the resting to hypertrophic zone. The extracellular matrix (ECM) reacted weakly for the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). A reduced content of sialic acid in the ECM was suggested. It is concluded that the cartilage abnormalities in the ocd/ocd is a new type disease of osteochondrodysplasia possibly due to some defects in GAGs and/or sialic acid metabolism.

Electron microscopic observations and electrophoresis of the glycosaminoglycans in the epiphyseal cartilage of the congenital osteochondrodysplasia rat (ocd/ocd).

The osteochondrodysplasia rat, inherited by a single autosomal recessive lethal gene ocd, shows a typical dwarfing syndrome with systemic subcutaneous edema. The skeletal system is most severely affected. The affected newborn also demonstrates abnormal kidney position and respiratory system anomalies and central nervous malfunction. Previous light microscopic observations show that the chondrocytes are expanded and destroyed, and the amounts of extracellular matrix (ECM) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are decreased. The present studies describe ultrastructural appearances, and measurement and electrophoretic analysis of the major components of the cartilaginous GAGs. Decrease in amounts of ECM and swollen chondrocytes with the expanded organelles were reconfirmed in the ocd/ocd by electron microscopic observation. The large expanded vesicles contained unevenly distributed granular materials and large ruthenium red (RR) granules. The RR granules in the ECM were small and most parts of the collagen fibers did not associate with the granule in the ocd/ocd, while the RR granules attached to all the collagen fibers in the phenotypically normal (+/?). There were large collagen bundles in the region where the chondrocytes were committed to self-destruction. The biochemical analysis of the cartilage showed that noncollagenous proteins were increased and the GAGs were decreased in amount in the ocd/ocd, although the hydroxyproline content was comparable to that of the +/?. The hyaluronic acid was close to the limit of detection by electrophoresis of the cartilaginous GAGs in the ocd/ocd. These results suggest that the ocd gene affects GAG metabolism. The decrease in amounts of GAGs, especially hyaluronic acid, may be responsible for the anomalies of the cartilage in the ocd/ocd.