Clinical value of 99Tcm-MIBI gated myocardial perfusion imaging in evaluating sarcoglycanopathy.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyse the diagnostic value of gated myocardial perfusion imaging (G-MPI) in the evaluation of myocardial injury in sarcoglycanopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients diagnosed with sarcoglycanopathy were evaluated using 99m- -methoxyisobutylisonitrile(99Tcm-MIBI) G-MPI. The data was processed into tomographic images, and the left ventricular function was analysed using quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) to assess the degree of impairment in myocardial and cardiac function. RESULTS: The images of 23 of the patients (82.1%) were positive. Two hundred and twenty-nine sub-segments with abnormal lesions were detected out of 391 cardiac sub-segments of these 23 positive cases. According to the segmental abnormalities, the cases were divided into two cases (8.7%) with single abnormal wall segment, six cases (26.1%) with two abnormal wall segments, and 15 cases (65.2%) with three or more abnormal wall segments or scattered lesions. CONCLUSIONS: 99Tcm-MIBI G-MPI can objectively show impaired myocardium in patients with sarcoglycanopathy. Therefore, this method is helpful for early diagnosis and follow-up of myocardial damage.

Expression of CCL2 and CCR2 in the hippocampus and the interventional roles of propofol in rat cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.

The aim of the present study was to determine the roles of the chemotactic factor, chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), and its receptor, chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2), in the hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. In total, 24 Sprague-Dawley rats, weighting 250-300 g, were randomly divided into three groups (n=8): Sham-operated (C group), cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R group) and propofol-intervention (P group) groups. The rats were sacrificed at 6 h after the ischemia/reperfusion surgery, and the brains were obtained to isolate the hippocampus. The mRNA expression levels of CCL2 and CCR2 in the hippocampus were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, while the protein expression levels of CCL2 and CCR2 were determined by western blot analysis. The expression levels of CCL2 and CCR2 in the procerebrum were markedly elevated in the I/R and P groups at 6 h after the ischemia/reperfusion surgery when compared with the C group (P<0.05). In addition, the mRNA expression levels of CCL2 and CCR2 decreased significantly in the P group as compared with that in the I/R group (P<0.05). Therefore, CCL2 and CCR2 may be involved in the mechanisms underlying cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, and propofol may protect the brain through regulating the expression of CCL2 and CCR2.