Academic radiology
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Review
The role of 18F-FDG-PET and PET/CT in patients with sarcoidosis: an updated evidence-based review.
To provide an updated evidence-based review of the literature on the role of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) or PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with sarcoidosis. ⋯ FDG-PET and PET/CT seem to be useful in staging, evaluating disease activity, and monitoring treatment response in patients with sarcoidosis. PET appears to have higher diagnostic accuracy compared to Gallium-67-citrate scintigraphy. Conversely, there is not enough evidence about the use of other PET tracers in patients with sarcoidosis. FDG-PET and PET/CT seem to have a role as predictive tools and may influence the clinical management in patients with sarcoidosis, but more studies are needed in this regard.
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Differentiating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer Disease (AD) from healthy aging remains challenging. This study aimed to explore the cerebral structural alterations of subjects with MCI or AD as compared to healthy elderly based on the individual and collective effects of cerebral morphologic indices using univariate and multivariate analyses. ⋯ Significant global structural alterations were identified in MCI and AD based on MANCOVA model with improved sensitivity. The intercorrelation among the morphologic indices may dampen the use of individual morphological parameter in featuring cerebral structural alterations. Decrease in cortical thickness is not reflective of the cognitive performance at the early stage of AD.
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Computed tomography (CT) plays a crucial role in early assessment of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Marshall and Rotterdam are the mostly used scoring systems, in which CT findings are grouped differently. We sought to determine the scoring system and initial CT findings predicting the death at hospital discharge (early death) in patients with TBI. ⋯ Both Marshall and Rotterdam scoring systems can be used to predict early death in patients with TBI. The performance of the Marshall score is at least equal to that of the Rotterdam score. Thus, although older, the Marshall score remains useful in predicting patients' prognosis.
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To investigate the conventional magnetic resonance (MR) findings of cervical spinal cord, to explore the possible changes on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and to assess the correlations between the changes on DTI and clinical parameters in patients with ALS. ⋯ Subtle abnormalities in bilateral LCTs in the "normal-appearing" cervical spinal cord can be detected using quantitative DTI technique in patients with ALS.
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To introduce a simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol for quantitative assessment of intraperitoneal, retroperitoneal, and subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) and to compare AT distribution between diabetic and nondiabetic individuals. ⋯ Amount and distribution of AT can be accurately and easily assessed on MRI. Quantification of intraabdominal AT may promote the role of imaging in the study of metabolic syndrome.