Percutaneous cryoablation of osteoblastoma in the proximal femur.

A 37-year-old man presented with a 2-year history of left hip pain. Pretherapeutic imaging demonstrated a 4 cm osteoblastoma located in the intertrochanteric region of the proximal femur, surrounded by extensive bone marrow edema. After multidisciplinary meeting, percutaneous cryoablation was decided and performed under computed tomography guidance using three cryoprobes to match the exact size and shape of the tumor, resulting in complete resolution of symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging follow-up demonstrated resolution of the bone marrow edema pattern and ingrowth of fat at the periphery of the ablation zone consistent with long-term healing of the tumor.

[Pathological features of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) renal scar CT-imaging in a swine model]. / Cicatrice de radiofréquence rénale : corrélations anatomopathologiques-tomodensitométriques chez le porc. Applications pratiques pour le suivi en imagerie.

PURPOSE: To analyze the changes in vicinal kidney parenchyma after percutaneous RFA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: [corrected] Twenty-four CT-guided RFA procedures were performed on six pigs using 2 cm LeVeen coaxial needles. We studied volume, morphology, cavitation and enhancement of the ablation zones (AZ) before and after the procedure on contrast-injected CT-scans. The kidneys were removed four weeks later and studied in the path lab. RESULTS: All the procedures were successfully completed. Four weeks later, the CT-scans showed AZ that were either clearly circumscribed or with unclear borders, heterogenous areas associating necrosis and infarct tissue and mesenchyma showing a process of apoptosis around the edges. A treatment considered as incomplete on the CT-scan (presenting as an enhancement) was always associated with necrosis on the histology slides, although the necrotic areas behaved in various different ways on the CT-scan after injection of contrast medium: an enhancement of more than 10 HU did not mean that no necrotic tissue was present. CONCLUSION: RFA causes heterogenous tissue changes, associating necrotic and ischemic zones and an apoptotic reaction. The mechanisms of these changes and their therapeutic significance should be studied. CT-scans performed immediately after RFA procedure and one month later are not predictive of the efficacy of the treatment because an enhancement of the AZ does not mean that it is not necrotic. The value of a CT-scan performed one month after the procedure is debatable, because the tissue remodeling that occurs in the kidneys is not definitive at this time-point.

Redox modulation of muscle mass and function.

Muscle mass and strength are very important for exercise performance. Training-induced musculoskeletal injuries usually require periods of complete immobilization to prevent any muscle contraction of the affected muscle groups. Disuse muscle wasting will likely affect every sport practitioner in his or her lifetime. Even short periods of disuse results in significant declines in muscle size, fiber cross sectional area, and strength. To understand the molecular signaling pathways involved in disuse muscle atrophy is of the utmost importance to develop more effective countermeasures in sport science research. We have divided our review in four different sections. In the first one we discuss the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle atrophy including the main protein synthesis and protein breakdown signaling pathways. In the second section of the review we deal with the main cellular, animal, and human atrophy models. The sources of reactive oxygen species in disuse muscle atrophy and the mechanism through which they regulate protein synthesis and proteolysis are reviewed in the third section of this review. The last section is devoted to the potential interventions to prevent muscle disuse atrophy with especial consideration to studies on which the levels of endogenous antioxidants enzymes or dietary antioxidants have been tested.

Improved Assessment of Middle Ear Recurrent Cholesteatomas Using a Fusion of Conventional CT and Non-EPI-DWI MRI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recurrent middle ear cholesteatomas are commonly preoperatively assessed using MR imaging (non-EPI-DWI) and CT. Both modalities are used with the aim of distinguishing scar tissue from cholesteatoma and determining the extent of bone erosions. Inflammation and scar tissue associated with the lesions might hamper a proper delineation of the corresponding extensions on CT images. Using surgical findings as the criterion standard, we assessed the recurrent middle ear cholesteatoma extent using either uncoregistered or fused CT-MR imaging datasets and determined the corresponding accuracy and repeatability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty consecutive patients with suspected recurrent middle ear cholesteatoma and preoperative CT-MR imaging datasets were prospectively included. A double-blind assessment and coregistration of the recurrent middle ear cholesteatoma extent and manual delineation of 18 presumed recurrent middle ear cholesteatomas were performed by 2 radiologists and compared with the criterion standard. "Reliability score" was defined to qualify radiologists' confidence. For each volume, segmentation repeatability was assessed on the basis of intraclass correlation coefficient and overlap indices. RESULTS: For the whole set of patients, recurrent middle ear cholesteatoma was further supported by surgical results. Two lesions were excluded from the analysis, given that MR imaging did not show a restricted diffusion. Lesions were accurately localized using the fused datasets, whereas significantly fewer lesions (85%) were correctly localized using uncoregistered images. Reliability scores were larger for fused datasets. Segmentation repeatability showed an almost perfect intraclass correlation coefficient regarding volumes, while overlaps were significantly lower in uncoregistered (52%) compared with fused (60%, P < .001) datasets. CONCLUSIONS: The use of coregistered CT-MR images significantly improved the assessment of recurrent middle ear cholesteatoma with a greater accuracy and better reliability and repeatability.

Reversal of age-associated frailty by controlled physical exercise: The pre-clinical and clinical evidences.

Demographic aging is one of the most serious challenges facing our society. Although we live longer, we do not live better because it is considered that approximately 16-20% of our life is spent in late-life morbidity. Older people have the greatest risk of developing frailty increasing the risk of presenting various adverse health events such as low quality of life, disability, hospitalization and even death. Frail men and women over 65 years old have lower muscle quality and muscle mass and higher percentage of body fat than non-frail people of the same age. In this review we will address the main physiological changes in the muscular and nervous system associated to aging. More specifically we will review the changes in muscle mass, quality, and strength relating them with the decrease in capillarization and muscular oxidative capacity as well as with the alterations in protein synthesis in the muscle with aging. The last section of the manuscript will be devoted to the animal models of frailty and the indexes developed to measure frailty in these models. We will finally address the importance of exercise training as an intervention to delay or even reverse frailty.

Active cushing syndrome patients have increased ectopic fat deposition and bone marrow fat content compared to cured patients and healthy subjects: a pilot 1H-MRS study.

OBJECTIVE: Glucocorticoid excess is one of the most important causes of bone disorders. Bone marrow fat (BMF) has been identified as a l new mediator of bone metabolism. Cushing syndrome (CS), is a main regulator of adipose tissue distribution but its impact on BMF is unknown. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of chronic hypercortisolism on BMF. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. Seventeen active and seventeen cured ACTH-dependent CS patients along with seventeen controls (matched with the active group for age and sex) were included. METHODS: the BMF content of the femoral neck and L3 vertebrae were measured by 1H-MRS on a 3-Tesla wide-bore magnet. BMD was evaluated in patients using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Active CS patients had higher BMF content both in the femur (82.5±2.6%) and vertebrae (70.1±5.1%) compared to the controls (70.8±3.6%, p=0.013 and 49.0±3.7% p=0.005, respectively). In cured CS patients (average remission time of 43 months), BMF content was not different from controls at both sites (72.3±2.9% (femur) and 46.7%±5.3% (L3)). BMF content was positively correlated with age, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides and visceral adipose tissue in the whole cohort and negatively correlated with BMD values in the CS patients . CONCLUSIONS: Accumulation of BMF is induced by hypercortisolism. In remission patients BMF reached values of controls. Further studies are needed to determine whether this increase in marrow adiposity in CS is associated with bone loss.

Prognostic factors for the recurrence of myxoid liposarcoma: 20 cases with up to 8 years follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Myxoid liposarcomas (MLS) are the second most common type of liposarcoma. Although some MRI findings are distinctively characteristics of MLS, the diagnosis can be tricky in tumors with a large portion of round cells (RC). Known predictors of an unfavorable outcome include age, tumor size, high RC content and positive resection margins. The goal of this retrospective study was to define prognostic factors for recurrence, with special emphasis on the percentage of RCs and medical care provided in a non-specialized center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty patients (11 women, 9 men) with a mean age of 44.3 years (18-73) were reviewed after a mean of 55.9 months. Six of these patients had been operated at a non-specialized center. The diagnostic MRI was read by a specialized radiologist and the resection procedures performed by two specialized surgeons. Tumors were labeled as either "pure myxoid liposarcoma" or "myxoid/round-cell liposarcoma". The local recurrence-free survival rate and mortality rate were calculated. RESULTS: Fifteen patients had undergone an MRI during the initial assessment. The typical MRI findings of MLS were present in four of them. The MRI suggested a non-specific lesion in the other 11 patients. After correlation with pathology findings, these tumors contained more than 5% round cells. The fourteen patients treated at our facility had undergone a biopsy, while none of the ones treated outside did. Five patients had R0 resection margins and 15 had R1 margins. Prognostic factors for recurrence consisted of age, tumor size >10 cm, R1 resection margins, FNCLCC grade 2+R1 margins, medical care at a non-specialized center, and >5% round cells. There were eight local recurrences and three metastases (15%). Two patients died (90% overall survival rate). DISCUSSION: The risk of local recurrence was 3.86 times greater in this study when the tumor contained more than 5% RCs, which is consistent with published data. The MLS diagnosis was made only four times based on the initial MRI because misleading nature of high RC tumors. R1 resection margins are a risk factor for local recurrence. However, cases with R1 margins have a recurrence rate that is similar to R0 cases when the surgery is performed at a specialized cancer center. Treatment of MLS in a non-specialized center is a key negative prognostic factor. The reported rate of metastasis varies. Atypical extrapulmonary localizations are common, and often multifocal. MRI has been shown to be superior at detecting secondary lesions and some have suggested that a full-body MRI should be performed. CONCLUSION: Prognostic factors for the recurrence of myxoid liposarcomas have been identified. MRI analysis is not definitive and must be supplemented by a biopsy.

Dehiscence of the lamina papyracea of the ethmoid bone: CT findings.

PURPOSE: To describe the CT findings characterizing dehiscence of the lamina papyracea. METHODS: Axial and coronal CT scanning of the paranasal sinuses was performed on 783 patients. RESULTS: Dehiscence of the lamina papyracea was noted incidentally in six patients. In all cases dehiscence was characterized by protrusion of orbital fat through a gap in the anterior ethmoid. The posterior limit of the dehiscence was always the basal lamella. The anterior limit varied. CONCLUSION: CT scans are often taken to detect polyps or assess chronic sinusitis. Awareness of dehiscence of the lamina papyracea is important to avoid misdiagnosis as infectious or tumoral process and possible injury of the orbit during endoscopic surgery.

Normocalcemia with elevated parathyroid hormone levels after surgical treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Thirty percent of patients who undergo successful parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism show unexplained elevated postoperative serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels despite normocalcemia. METHODS: PTH levels were measured monthly in 97 patients for 6 months after parathyroidectomy. Renal function, 25-OH-vitamin D levels, serum alkaline phosphatase levels, osteocalcin, and bone densitometry were evaluated before and 6 months after surgery. PTH reactivity to calcium loading was tested at the sixth month. RESULTS: Thirty patients had elevated PTH levels despite normocalcemia after parathyroidectomy. Before surgery, these 30 patients had higher PTH and creatinine levels, lower vitamin D levels, and more extensive bone involvement than those with normal postoperative PTH levels. In patients with normal renal function and normal vitamin D levels, postoperative PTH values correlated with preoperative PTH levels but not with bone disease. CONCLUSION: In most cases, elevated PTH levels after surgery is an adaptive reaction to renal dysfunction or vitamin D deficiency. If no adaptive cause can be found, persistent hyperparathyroidism must be suspected.

The intravertebral vacuum phenomenon ("vertebral osteonecrosis"). Migration of intradiscal gas in a fractured vertebral body?

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of the association between contiguous intervertebral disc and vertebral collapses with or without an intravertebral vacuum phenomenon. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The mechanism of occasional gas accumulation within some vertebral collapses is poorly known. The current hypothesis is that this phenomenon is indicative of bone ischemia. In fact, avascular necrosis as the main pathologic event remains speculative, and should not explain per se the presence of gas within a vertebral body. METHODS: Comparison of the prevalence of intervertebral disc vacuum phenomenon adjacent to the affected vertebral body in 23 cases of intravertebral vacuum phenomenon in 19 patients (intravertebral vacuum phenomenon group) and in 708 osteoporotic collapses without intravertebral vacuum phenomenon in 199 patients (control group). RESULTS: There were no differences in sex and age between the two groups, and all the patients in the intravertebral vacuum phenomenon group had signs of underlying osteoporosis. A vacuum phenomenon in at least one intervertebral disc adjacent to the collapses on radiographs, conventional tomography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging was found in 19 cases (83%) in the intravertebral vacuum phenomenon group, compared with 13% in the control group (P < 0.0001). Considering plain radiographs only, this association was found in 50% of the intravertebral vacuum phenomenon group and in 9.7% of the control group (P < 0.0001). The intervertebral and intravertebral gaseous collections were connected through a fractured endplate in six cases. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of the association of contiguous intervertebral and intravertebral vacuum phenomenon could have implications in the pathogenesis of the intravertebral vacuum phenomenon. We hypothesize that the intravertebral vacuum phenomenon could simply be the result of migration of an intradiscal-gaseous collection through the fractured endplate of some osteoporotic collapses.

Young woman's digestive arterial occlusion--a case report and literature review.

The authors report the observation of a 31-year-old woman who presented with total occlusion of digestive arteries and was successfully treated pharmacologically. A review of the literature shows that digestive arteries thrombosis is a rare condition in young women. Only 15 cases have been previously reported. Prognosis was poor with a mortality rate of 71%; 93% used oral contraception and more than 50% were smokers. All these cases were curiously similar. The authors accentuate the role of iloprost in the recovery of the patient. Digestive artery occlusion should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain, especially in young women who smoke and take estrogen-containing birth control pills.

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in predicting late facial motor function after removal of vestibular schwannomas by the translabyrinthine approach.

Facial motor function was assessed in 61 patients 18 months after surgical resection, by the translabyrinthine approach, of vestibular schwannoma involving both the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) and the auditory canal. Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to measure the maximum extracanalicular diameter of the tumour between the porus and the farthest extension in the CPA on transverse slices and to calculate extracanalicular tumour volume. Post-operative facial motor function was graded according to the House and Brackmann system. There was a statistically significant relationship between late facial motor function and extracanalicular diameter. The best cut-off point for good and poor results was 20mm. There was no relationship between the tumour volume and the late post-operative facial motor function grade. In this study the best pre-operative radiological predictor of the late facial motor function in patients operated on by the translabyrinthine approach was the maximum diameter measured by MRI.

[Intra-arterial thrombolysis using rt-PA for the treatment of occluded infra-inguinal bypasses]. / Thrombolyse intra-artérielle avec le rt-PA pour le traitement des occlusions des pontages sous-inguinaux.

From July 1990 to July 1993, we performed 41 percutaneous intra-arterial thrombolysis procedures for the treatment of obstructed infra-inguinal bypass grafts in 32 patients. There were 27 men and five women with a mean age of 63 +/- 17 years (range 21 to 83 years). The symptoms of occlusion were intermittent claudication in three cases, rest pain in 12 cases, severe ischemia without sensitive-motor loss in 26 cases. Bypasses were achieved using a prosthesis in 18 cases (43.9%), a saphenous vein in 10 cases (24.4%), an arterial allograft in nine cases (21.9%), and a composite prosthesis-vein graft in four cases (9.8%) (table I). The distal anastomosis of the bypass graft was located on the popliteal artery in 26 cases (63.4%) and a crural artery in 15 cases (36.6%). The mean duration of the occlusion was 4.9 +/- 3.4 days (range 1 to 15 days). The percutaneous approach was through the contralateral common femoral artery in 26 cases (63.4%), through the ipsilateral common femoral artery in seven cases (17.1%), through the left humeral artery in eight cases (19.5%). In all cases the thrombolytic agent was the recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Each procedure began with the injection of a five milligram bolus of rt-PA into or onto the thrombus followed by infusion of rt-PA into the thrombus at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg/h. Intravenous heparin was simultaneously administered. Serum fibrinogen, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) were measured every three hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Pelvic venous thrombosis and abnormality of the post-renal inferior vena cava]. / Thrombose veineuse pelvienne et anomalie de la veine cave inférieure sous-rénale.

After angiography, a 17 year-old male patient presented a pseudo appendicular syndrome. After two poorly contributive surgical explorations, CT and MR Imaging showed atresia of the infra-renal vena cava, with pelvic thrombophlebitis extending to the gonadal and lumbar collateral circulation.

[Preoperative staging of central bronchopulmonary cancer. X-ray CT-MRI-pulmonary digital subtraction angiography and surgery]. / Bilan pré-opératoire des cancers broncho-pulmonaires centraux. Corrélations TDM-IRM--angiographie pulmonaire numérisée et chirurgie.

In order to evaluate the reliability of medical imaging methods in the assessment of mediastinal invasion by lung cancers, a prospective study was conducted in 30 patients undergoing preoperative computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pulmonary digital subtraction angiography. MRI improved the sensitivity of detection of surgically confirmed mediastinal lymphadenopathy, but its specificity in relation to histological results was poor and identical to that of CT. In terms of extension to vascular structures, MRI and CT gave comparable results for the pulmonary artery and vein with two false positives for the pulmonary veins and left atrium with the two methods. MRI was found to be superior to CT for the detection of invasion of the aortic arch. Digital subtraction angiography is not as reliable as the other two modalities, particularly for extension to the pulmonary vein for which it was found to be technically inappropriate. By means of sagittal and frontal scans, MRI was therefore found to be more effective than CT for examination of the subcarinal region and aorto-pulmonary window. In contrast, the persistence of false positives with the two methods and the impossibility of distinguishing between inflammatory lymph nodes and neoplastic lymph nodes means that thoracotomy can never be contraindicated on the basis of the results of imaging alone.

[Imaging of paranasal sinus trauma]. / Traumatismes des sinus de la face.

UNLABELLED: The role of imaging in the management of maxillofacial trauma is to describe anatomical lesions and to detect complications and associated injuries. Plain films are still useful for minimal trauma, but CT-scan is the gold standard for complex trauma. Helical CT and multidetector row CT simplify the emergency imaging of horizontal struts (skull base, orbital floor, alveolar ridge and palate). The diagnosis, and sometimes the treatment of complications may require CT cisternography, MRI and angiography. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: review mechanisms and classification of paranasal sinuses trauma; present the imaging techniques with special emphasis on CT; describe paranasal sinuses trauma features and pseudo-fracture patterns; describe complications and associated injuries.

[Extrapleural hematoma]. / Hématome extra-pleural.

The authors report a case of a voluminous extra-pleural hematoma in relation to a fracture of the body of the eleventh thoracic vertebra on a 74 year-old man after craniothoracic injury. Thoracic CT Scan showed a homogeneous posterior parietal mass of tissue density (40 HU) outlined by a fatty lining associated with a fracture of the eleventh thoracic vertebra. This allowed a modification in the diagnosis of a hemothorax established previously on conventional radiography. The authors insist on the gravity of this affection when the volume of the hematoma is important. But this is very rare (6 cases out of which 5 were autopsic findings). If present it requise an urgent surgical treatment without forgetting the fiability of CT Scan which relies on putting into evidence the pleural lining sign.

[Accessory retrograde aneurysmal aortic lumen supplying the inferior mesenteric artery]. / Lumière anévrismale aortique accessoire rétrograde alimentant l'artère mésentérique inférieure.

We report the case of a patient with infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm with mural thrombus covering the ostium of a patent inferior mesenteric artery (IMA). The IMA was supplied via flow from an accessory aneurysmal lumen within the mural thrombus that filled retrogradely from the aorta. This unusual pattern, associated with calcifications within the thrombus, raised the possibility of chronic aortic dissection.