Value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Evaluation of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in distinguishing between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Two hundred and one cervical LNs (157 metastatic from PTC and 44 benign) were evaluated using conventional ultrasonography (US) and CEUS before biopsy or surgery. Histopathology was used as the gold standard. We evaluated the size, long axis/short axis ratio (L/S), fatty hilum, hyper-echogenicity, calcification, cystic change, peripheral vascularity and CEUS parameters for each lymph nodule. The CEUS parameters included enhancement type, homogeneity, perfusion type, ring enhancement, peak intensity (PI) index and area under the curve (AUC) index. Univariate analysis demonstrated that compared with benign LNs, malignant LNs more frequently had L/S < 2, absence of a fatty hilum, presence of hyper-echogenicity, presence of calcification, peripheral vascularity, hyper-enhancement, heterogeneous enhancement, centripetal perfusion, ring enhancement, PI index > 1 and AUC index > 1 on preoperative US and CEUS. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that hyper-enhancement, centripetal perfusion, and ring enhancement are independent CEUS characteristics related to malignant LNs for their differentiation from benign LNs (all p < 0.05). Our study indicated that preoperative CEUS characteristics may serve as a useful tool to identify malignant cervical LNs from benign cervical LNs.

Value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Partially Cystic Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas.

Partially cystic papillary thyroid carcinomas (PCPTCs) are rarely reported papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) and are usually misdiagnosed as benign nodules. The objective of this study was to provide the various sonographic characteristics of partially cystic thyroid nodules for differentiation between malignant and benign nodules, including those for conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Twenty-three PCPTC patients and 37 nodular goiter patients were enrolled in this study. We evaluated the size, cystic percentage, solid echogenicity, calcification, vascularity, and CEUS parameters for each nodule. The final diagnosis of all patients was confirmed via surgery. Univariate analysis demonstrated that compared with benign nodular goiters, PCPTCs more frequently presented with calcification, hypoechogenicity of the solid part, hypoenhancement, heterogeneous enhancement, centrifugal perfusion, peak intensity index <1, time to peak index ≥1, and area under the curve index <1 on preoperative US and CEUS. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that heterogeneous enhancement, centrifugal perfusion, and peak intensity index <1 are independent CEUS characteristics related to malignant PCPTCs and can be used for their differentiation from benign nodular goiters (all p < 0.05). Our study indicated that preoperative CEUS characteristics may serve as a useful tool to distinguish malignant PCPTCs from benign thyroid nodules.

Study of the therapeutic effects of betamethasone injection combined with musculoskeletal ultrasonography compared with radial shock wave therapy in the treatment of tenosynovitis of the long head of the biceps brachii.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the therapeutic effects of compound betamethasone injection (CBI) combined with musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) and radial shock wave therapy (RSWT) in the treatment of tenosynovitis of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon (TLHBBT). METHODS: A total of 93 patients with TLHBBT admitted to our hospital were selected and randomly divided into an observation group (n=48) and a control group (n=45). The control group received RSWT, while the observation group received CBI combined with MSUS. The therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The visual analog scale scores for the affected sites in the observation group were lower than those in the control group immediately after treatment and at 1, 2 and 4 weeks after treatment, while the constant-Murley scale scores for the active range of motion for shoulder forward flexion and shoulder joint function in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the positive rate in Yergason's test in the observation group (2.08%) was lower than that in the control group (15.56%), while the negative rate in the observation group (97.92%) was higher than that in the control group (84.44%) (P < 0.05). The overall response rate (ORR) in the observation group (93.75%) was higher than that in the control group (80.00%) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CBI combined with MSUS, is superior to RSWT in treating TLHBBT, and it can remarkably reduce pain, increase joint range of motion, and improve joint function.

Rapid screening of bioactive compounds from natural products by integrating 5-channel parallel chromatography coupled with on-line mass spectrometry and microplate based assays.

A high throughput method was developed for rapid screening and identification of bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicine, marine products and other natural products. The system, integrated with five-channel chromatographic separation and dual UV-MS detection, is compatible with in vitro 96-well microplate based bioassays. The stability and applicability of the proposed method was validated by testing radical scavenging capability of a mixture of seven known compounds (rutin, dihydroquercetin, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, glycyrrhizic acid, rubescensin A and tangeretin). Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied to the crude extracts of traditional Chinese medicine and a marine sponge from which 12 bioactive compounds were screened and characterized based on their anti-oxidative or anti-tumor activities. In particular, two diterpenoid derivatives, agelasine B and (-)-agelasine D, were identified for the first time as anti-tumor compounds from the sponge Agelas mauritiana, showing a considerable activity toward MCF-7 cells (IC50 values of 7.84±0.65 and 10.48±0.84 µM, respectively). Our findings suggested that the integrated system of 5-channel parallel chromatography coupled with on-line mass spectrometry and microplate based assays can be a versatile and high efficient approach for the discovery of active compounds from natural products.