[New development in neuroradiological diagnosis of migraine]. / Emicrania: recenti progressi in diagnostica neuroradiologica.

Migraine is one of the most common forms of primary headache. In recent years there have been important discoveries thanks to a greater understanding of conventional radiologic studies and the advent of the advanced exams. This has led to a revolution of the knowledge of its pathophysiological mechanisms and opens the way for future therapeutic developments.

[Uro-CT protocol for the diagnosis of small urothelial neoplasms of urinary tract by quantitative analysis of contrast enhancement and correlation to the histological grading]. / Protocollo uro-TC per la diagnosi di piccole formazioni eterotransizionali delle vie urinarie con analisi quantitativa dell'enhancement e correlazione al grading istologico.

In the study of urinary tract, traditional imaging modalities still play a vital role in the diagnosis of urothelial tumors of the upper urinary tract; however, the introduction of multidetector computed tomography has greatly changed the way of evaluation of urological patients. In fact, by means of a multiphasic study protocol is possible to recognize with high sensitivity small urothelial lesions and, moreover, to perform at the same time, an evaluation of local and metastatic extension also. The evaluation of the pattern of contrast enhancement in addition, allows a judgement of biological aggressiveness related to tumor grading.

[Adult transient intestinal intussusception: can abdominal CT guide resolution?]. / Invaginazioni intestinali transitorie nell'adulto: quale ruolo per la TC nella risoluzione?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult transient intestinal intussusceptions on CT before and after the administration of gastrointestinal contrast material. We evaluated two different gastrointestinal contrast materials: hyperdense and hypodense. In all cases the gastrointestinal contrast agent solved the invaginations. In the group of patients treated with hypodense contrast medium relapses occurred in the short and long term; no recurrence was observed in the other group. CT is useful in the recognition of intestinal intussusception. The gastrointestinal contrast agent could define the real transience of intussusceptions and hyperdense contrast agent could be more effective in short and long term resolution.

[Role of urographic 64 CT examination for the evaluation of kidney inflammation diseases]. / Ruolo della TC 64-strati con metodica urografica nelle patologie flogistiche renali.

In the study of inflammatory kidney diseases, the use of integrated imaging is considered the best diagnostic approach. However, given the high cost of radiological examinations, the radiologist is responsible for the choice of the best method to solve the question asked by the clinician. In this paper are presented the main imaging methods for the study of pyelonephritis and, based on our experience, it is emphasized the role of multidetector Computed Tomography urographic technique in the identification, characterization and subsequent follow-up of inflammatory kidney diseases.

[Ultrasound-guided biopsy of the testis: indications and results]. / Biopsie testicolari sotto guida ecografica: indicazioni e risultati.

Ultrasound examination of the testis is the imaging modality of choice for the evaluation of intratesticular focal lesions. In spite of its high sensibility, eco-Doppler-elastography is lacking of specificity in discrimination between benign and malign lesions, not always allowing us to make a definitive diagnosis of malignancy. When a diagnostic doubt persists, for such lesions that are indeterminate at clinical and radiological evaluation, it is possible to recur to ultrasound-guided testicular needle biopsy. This paper describes the main application scenarios of testicular fine-needle aspiration under ultrasound guidance and the experience in our institute.

Early diagnosis of vertebral fractures.

Vertebral fractures are a common clinical entity, caused by trauma or related to osteoporosis (benign). Their recognition is especially important in the post-menopausal female population but also important is their differentiation from pathological (malignant) fractures (1). A vertebral fracture is evidenced by vertebral body deformity or reduction in vertebral body height beyond a certain threshold value in the absence of bone discontinuity. For prognosis and treatment it is extremely important to recognize the cause of the fracture. In contrast to fractures that occur in other locations, vertebral fractures often go unrecognized in the acute phase as the pain may be transient and radiographic and evaluation of the spine may be difficult (2). Objective measurement of the vertebral deformity provides invaluable information to the interpreting physician and helps grade fracture severity. The recognition and diagnosis of vertebral fractures can be performed using additional diagnostic tools.

Radiological diagnostic progress in skeletal diseases.

High-resolution bone imaging has made tremendous progress in the recent past. Both imaging modalities, computed tomography as well as MR imaging, have improved image quality. New developments such as HR-pQCT now make it possible to acquire in vivo images at peripheral sites with isotropic voxel size in a very short time. Further enhancements in the MR field have made it possible to image more central body sites such as the proximal femur with very high spatial resolution. New analysis methods can obtain direct estimates of biomechanical properties and important information related to bone's topology, as well as parameters of scale and orientation. These accomplishments will be essential in the noninvasive assessment of osteoporosis and fracture risk, will provide insight into the mechanisms behind bone loss, and will increasingly play a role as a tool for assessing treatment efficacy.

Regulation of PTH secretion by 25-hydroxyvitamin D and ionized calcium depends on vitamin D status: a study in a large cohort of healthy subjects.

INTRODUCTION: Previous papers investigating vitamin D status have often outlined the significant relationships between serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), but the influence of ionized calcium levels has not been concomitantly considered. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 1050 healthy men (547) and women (503), serum ionized calcium (iCa), creatinine (Cr), albumin, 25OHD, and PTH were measured. After conventional analysis, a regression tree was fitted on the data set. RESULTS: 25OHD and PTH values showed significant opposite seasonal changes. 25OHD levels negatively correlated with PTH, which in turn negatively correlated with iCa. A regression tree was fitted to the whole data set using PTH as the response variable and 25OHD and iCa as covariates. PTH concentration depended on that of iCa only in subjects with 25OHD levels>16.35 ng/mL, while for 25OHD<16.35 ng/mL it depended on 25OHD values. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that PTH levels were highly conditioned by those of 25OHD in subjects with 25OHD values lower than 16.35 ng/mL and by those of iCa only for higher 25OHD concentration.