Initial experience of using improved motion sensitized driven equilibrium prepared balanced steady-state free precession / 实用医学杂志

Objective To assess the application value of NCE-MRA using iMSDE prepared bSSFP sequence in lower limb in patients with diabetes. Methods This prospective study included a total of 35 patients with type II diabetes who underwent CE-MRA on the 1.5T MR scanner after the NCE-MRA. The obtained MIP images were independently rated by two radiologist with a four score table and using CE-MRA as a reference standard to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of NCE-MRA for the narrowed arteries. The difference of the percent age of diagnostic arterial segments between NCE-MRA and CE-MRA on diabetic patients was evaluated by the χ2 test. Results Compared with CE-MRA, the diagnostic-value arterial segment ratio of pelvic arteries on NCE-MRA is decreased significantly. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of two readers in NCE-MRA were 95%/87%, 96%/95%, 57%/72%, 99%/99%, and 96%/95%(k=0.76), respectively. Conclusions The NCE-MRA using iMSDE prepared bSSFP sequence is capable of depicting vascu-lar lesions for the lower extremities in diabetic patients with the advantages of contrast agent free, short scan times and good diagnostic value in the thigh and calves.

Comparison of breath-hold and respiratory-triggered proton MR spectroscopy in quantification of liver fat content / 实用医学杂志

Objective To compare the consistency and correlation of multiple breath-hold (BH) with respiratory-triggered (RT) 1H-MRS for quantification of hepatic lipid content. Methods Sixty subjects were underwent RT 1H-MRS of the liver (Couinaud segment VII) and BH 1H-MRS at 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonace Imaging (MRI). The peak areas of water and methylene obtained on RT and BH 1H-MRS were recorded respectively and the liver fat fraction was calculated. Pearson correlation coefficient , Bland-Altman 95% limit of agreement, and concordance correlation coefficient were calculated. Results Mean liver fat fraction measured in RT and BH 1H-MRS were (8.6 ± 8.7)% and (9.4 ± 9.3)% respectively. There was a strong correlation between RT and BH 1H-MRS(r = 0.973, P < 0.000 1, concordance correlation coefficient = 0.95). With the Bland-Altman method, 91.7% data points were within the 95% limits of agreement. Conclusion RT and BH 1H-MRS are alternative tools for intrahepatic lipid quantification. These two methods have a strong correlation and perfect consistency.

Clinical Observation of Electroacupuncture plus Needle-cupping for Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Herniation / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture plus needle-cupping in treating lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH). Method Eighty patients with LIDH were divided into an observation group and a control group by random number table, 40 in each group. The observation group was intervened by electroacupuncture plus needle-cupping, while the control group was by electroacupuncture plus cupping. The clinical efficacy, Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (M-JOA) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were observed and comparatively analyzed. Result The total effective rate was 95.0% in the observation group, significantly different from that of the control group (P＜0.05); the M-JOA scores increased significantly (P＜0.05) and VAS scores dropped significantly (P＜0.05) in both groups, and the changes of the scores were markedly different between the two groups (P＜0.05), indicating that the improvement in the observation group was more significant. Conclusion Electroacupuncture plus needle-cupping can produce a significant therapeutic efficacy in treating LIDH.

Evaluation of diffusion weighted imaging after contrast in characterizing breast tumors / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect of intravenous administration of gadolinium-DTPA on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)of breast lesions and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)values,and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of post-contrast ADC for differentiating benign from malignant lesions in breast.Methods Thirty-eight histopathologically-confirmed breast lesions were analyzed.We examined the signal to noise ratio(SNR)of normal breast tissue and lesions and evaluated the contrast to noise ratio(CNR)of each lesion.We also assessed the relation between pre-and post-contrast ADC values.Results SNRs and CNRs of DWI before and after contrast were not significantly different.The mean post-contrast ADC values for malignant lesions significantly decreased after contrast injected (mean of -1 1.6%),while ADC values in the benign lesions were not significantly different before and after contrast.Conclusion Post-contrast ADC values may be a better indicator of potential breast tumors than pre-contrast ADC values.

Clinical features of immunocompetent patients with Penicilliosis marneffei / 中国基层医药

Objective To discuss the clinical features of immunocompetent patients with Penicilliosis marneffei.Methods To analyze and summarize the clinical data of 4 immunocompetent patients with Penicilliosis marneffei.Results Clinical manifestation of patients centered on intermittent slight or mild fever,lymphadenectasis,skin eruptions,osteolytic destruction,anaemia,and leukocytosis.The cultural Penicillium marneffei in specimen such as blood,pus showed a higher positive rate.Amphotericin B and itraconazole was available in treatment.Conclusion Immunocompetent people can be infected by Penicillium marneffei,and they appear nonspecific in clinical manifestation after infection.A timely and effective antifungal therapy can improve the prognosis of patients.