Acta radiologica
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With the aid of newly developed functional brain imaging studies, studies are ongoing to see if acupuncture first acts on specific brain areas to induce effects on the human body. ⋯ Changes of glucose metabolism in specific brain areas following stimulation by acupuncture on LR3 and ST44 were documented using FDG-PET/CT.
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Comparative Study
Whole-body MRI with assessment of hepatic and extraabdominal enhancement after administration of gadoxetic acid for staging of rectal carcinoma.
In TNM staging of rectal cancer by MRI, unspecific extracellular contrast agent Gd-DTPA is established for extrahepatic and vascular enhancement whereas liver-specific gadoxetic acid has proven high accurate detection of liver metastasis. ⋯ The contrast enhancement after gadoxetic acid is comparable to Gd-DTPA and appears suitable for comprehensive TNM-staging by combining high accurate liver-specific phases with efficacious vascular enhancement in the different anatomic regions.
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The clinical importance of Guyon's canal is emphasized due to the various branching patterns of the ulnar nerve. So far, the arborization pattern of the ulnar nerve in Guyon's canal has been investigated mostly by cadaveric studies. ⋯ US and 3 T MRI readily delineated the branching pattern of the ulnar nerve in Guyon's canal in vivo. Morphological understanding about this neural branching can be informative in presurgical planning and also in diagnosis.
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Cardiac output (CO) is inversely related to vascular contrast medium (CM) enhancement during computed tomography (CT). Impedance cardiography with a new technique, electrical velocimetry (EV), may create opportunities to measure CO pre-examination for adaptation of CM injection parameters. ⋯ EV makes it possible to measure CO in the CT suite before vascular examinations. Hence, CM doses may be decreased in low CO states to reduce the risk of CM-induced nephropathy without jeopardizing diagnostic quality and may be increased in high CO states to avoid poor enhancement.