Clinical Value and Diagnostic Accuracy of 3.0T Multi-Parameter Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injury.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value and diagnostic accuracy of 3.0T multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in traumatic brachial plexus injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-five healthy volunteers and 28 patients with clinically confirmed traumatic brachial plexus injury were enrolled in this study. Bilateral brachial plexus imaging was performed using conventional sequences (T1WI, T2WI), short time inversion recovery (STIR), balanced fast field echo (balance-FFE), and diffusion weighted imaging with background suppression (DWIBS). The MRI diagnosis was compared with intraoperative electromyography and surgery. RESULTS Brachial plexus injuries were classified based on the anatomic locations. There were 16 patients with pre-ganglionic injury and 12 patients with post-ganglionic injury. The pre-ganglionic injury included ruptured nerve roots, stiff nerve roots, traumatic meningeal cysts, black line sign, spinal cord edema, and thickened nerve root sleeve. The post-ganglionic injury included thickened nerve roots, disappearance of normal nerve root structure or disrupted continuity of the nerve, stiff nerve roots, pseudo-neuroma, and abnormalities in the adjacent soft tissues. Comparing the results from MRI and surgery, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MRI examination were 93.55%, 71.43%, and 89.47% respectively for preganglionic injury, and 91.30%, 60.00%, and 85.71% respectively for postganglionic injury. CONCLUSIONS The combination of STIR, balance-FFE, and DWIBS sequences can display brachial plexus pre-ganglionic and post-ganglionic injury clearly, effectively, and accurately.

Radiofrequency enhances drug release from responsive nanoflowers for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignant tumor and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and systemic chemotherapy is the preferred treatment modality for advanced HCC. Curcumin (CUR) is a polyphenolic antineoplastic drug with low toxicity obtained from plants. However, its low bioavailability and poor solubility limit its functionality. In this study, radiofrequency- (RF) enhanced responsive nanoflowers (NFs), containing superparamagnetic ferric oxide nanoclusters (Fe3O4 NCs), - CUR layer, - and MnO2 (CUR-Fe@MnO2 NFs), were verified to have a thermal therapeutic effect. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the CUR-Fe@MnO2 NFs, which appeared flower-like with a size of 96.27 nm. The in vitro experimental data showed that RF enhanced the degradation of CUR-Fe@MnO2 NFs to release Mn2+ and CUR. The cytotoxicity test results indicated that after RF heating, the CUR-Fe@MnO2 NFs significantly suppressed HCC cell proliferation. Moreover, CUR-Fe@MnO2 NFs were effective T 1/T 2 contrast agents for molecular magnetic resonance imaging due to the release of Mn2+ and Fe3O4 NCs.