Comparative study of the most commonly-used radiopharmaceuticals for PSMA prostate PET/CT imaging.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies and cause of cancer death in men. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most used biomarker in the detection of early PCa. Lately, scientists have been using prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a glycol-protein that is over-expressed in PCa cells in positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) scans to detect PCa. Gallium-68-PSMA radiotracers, such as 68Ga-PSMA-11, 68Ga-PSMA-617 and 68Ga-PSMA I&T, were firstly introduced in 2011 and fluorine-18-PSMA based radiotracers followed with 18F-PSMA-1007,N-[N-[(S)-1,3-dicarboxypropyl]carbamoyl]- 4-18F-fluorobenzyl-L-cysteine(18F-DCFBC) and 2-(3-(1-carboxy-5-[(6-[18F]fluoro-pyridine-3-carbonyl)-amino]-pentyl)-ureido)- pentanedioic acid (18F-DCFPyL), also known as PYLARIFY, being the most used and showed superior results compared to conventional imaging techniques. Differences depending on half-life, clearance and normal organ uptake are being detected through research to determine which of the radiotracers, is the most suitable for each patient. Two of them, 68Ga-PSMA-11 and PLYRIFY, have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The future of hybrid imaging for PCa is very promising if we consider the advantages of PSMA radiotracers compared to non-PSMA radioligands.

A generic curriculum development model for the biomedical physics component of the educational and training programmes of the non-physics healthcare professions.

The objective of the study was the construction of a generic curriculum development model for the use of biomedical physics (BMP) educators teaching the non-physics healthcare professions (HCP) in Europe. A comprehensive, qualitative cross-sectional Europe-wide survey of the curricula delivered by BMP in Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) was carried out. Curricular content was collected from faculty web-sites, curricular documents and textbooks. The survey data was supplemented with semi-structured interviews and direct observation during onsite visits. The number of faculties studied was 118 from 67 universities spread all over Europe, whilst the number of onsite visits/interviews was 15 (geographically distributed as follows: Eastern Europe 6, North Western Europe 5, and South Western Europe 4). EU legislation, recommendations by European national medical councils, educational benchmark statements by higher education quality assurance agencies, research journals concerning HCP education and other documents relevant to standards in clinical practice and undergraduate education were also analyzed. Best practices and BMP learning outcomes were elicited from the curricular materials, interviews and documentation and these were subsequently used to construct the curriculum development model. A structured, comprehensive BMP learning outcomes inventory was designed in the format required by the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The structures of the inventory and curriculum development model make them ideally suited for use by BMP involved in European curriculum development initiatives for the HCP.

The significance of second lumbrical-interosseous latency comparison in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

AIM: To assess the significance of the second lumbrical-interosseous latency (2LI-DML) comparison in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We examined 150 consecutive hands of patients referred with suspected CTS, using the 2LI-DML test and other standard measures of median nerve function. Correlations of the 2LI-DML test with standard tests were computed. RESULTS: Hundred and four hands were electrophysiologically confirmed to have CTS. The 2LI-DML test was abnormal in 99/104 (95.2%) hands with CTS with a mean value of 1.54 +/- 1.12 ms. Among the other measures, the orthodromic median-ulnar palmar velocity comparison was the most frequently abnormal test (95/104 hands, 91.3%), followed by the double-peak morphology of orthodromic sensory action potential from digit 4 (94/104, 90.4%). The 2LI-DML test significantly correlated, either positively or negatively, with all other standard tests. CONCLUSION: The 2LI-DML comparison is highly sensitive in diagnosing CTS, even in mild cases in which standard tests fail to detect abnormalities.