First patients treated with a 1.5 T MRI-Linac: clinical proof of concept of a high-precision, high-field MRI guided radiotherapy treatment.

The integration of 1.5 T MRI functionality with a radiotherapy linear accelerator (linac) has been pursued since 1999 by the UMC Utrecht in close collaboration with Elekta and Philips. The idea behind this integrated device is to offer unrivalled, online and real-time, soft-tissue visualization of the tumour and the surroundings for more precise radiation delivery. The proof of concept of this device was given in 2009 by demonstrating simultaneous irradiation and MR imaging on phantoms, since then the device has been further developed and commercialized by Elekta. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of online, high-precision, high-field MRI guidance of radiotherapy using the first clinical prototype MRI-Linac. Four patients with lumbar spine bone metastases were treated with a 3 or 5 beam step-and-shoot IMRT plan. The IMRT plan was created while the patient was on the treatment table and based on the online 1.5 T MR images; pre-treatment CT was deformably registered to the online MRI to obtain Hounsfield values. Bone metastases were chosen as the first site as these tumors can be clearly visualized on MRI and the surrounding spine bone can be detected on the integrated portal imager. This way the portal images served as an independent verification of the MRI based guidance to quantify the geometric precision of radiation delivery. Dosimetric accuracy was assessed post-treatment from phantom measurements with an ionization chamber and film. Absolute doses were found to be highly accurate, with deviations ranging from 0.0% to 1.7% in the isocenter. The geometrical, MRI based targeting as confirmed using portal images was better than 0.5 mm, ranging from 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm. In conclusion, high precision, high-field, 1.5 T MRI guided radiotherapy is clinically feasible.

Low-calcium dialysate stimulates parathormone secretion and its long-term use worsens secondary hyperparathyroidism.

The long-term clinical effects of the use of a low calcium concentration in the dialysate are largely unknown. For this reason, the influence of low-calcium dialysate on parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion in hemodialysis patients and its long-term effect on the severity of secondary hyperparathyroidism were studied. In 35 hemodialysis patients, the dialysate calcium concentration was lowered from 1.75 to 1.25 mmol/L. Twelve months later, serum iPTH levels increased significantly from 18.6 to 33.2 pmol/L and so did alkaline phosphatase levels, from 210 to 330 IU/L, without significant changes in serum calcium or phosphorus levels. Hemodialysis with low-calcium dialysate (1.25 mmol/L) induced a net calcium loss in 10 patients, without modifications in ionized serum calcium levels. In addition, mean serum iPTH increased 20% over baseline levels, reaching the maximal level at 30 min after the start of hemodialysis with low-calcium dialysate. In contrast, mean serum iPTH levels drop dramatically at 30 min of hemodialysis with high-calcium dialysate (1.75 mmol/L). It was concluded that low-calcium dialysate worsens secondary hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis patients, probably by inducing a negative calcium balance and causing repetitive stimulation of PTH secretion in each dialysis. The maintenance of normal serum calcium levels could be due to PTH-induced calcium mobilization from bone.

[Cirrhosis caused by amiodarone]. / Cirrosis causada por amiodarona.

A woman who had been taking amiodarone--400 mg/day--for over nine years, developed cirrhosis. Electron microscopy showed phospholipid-laden lysosomal lamellar bodies containing myelin figures. A review is made about the reported cases of amiodarone-induced cirrhosis, including detailed histological findings. We conclude that periodical clinical and biochemical monitoring must be made in patients receiving treatment with amiodarone, and that the pathophysiologic mechanism responsible for the amiodarone toxicity still remains unclear.