Letter to the editor

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The Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a difficult disease to treat and continues to portend a poor prognosis, as most patients are unresectable at diagnosis. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with CT (PET/CT) has been a cornerstone in oncological imaging of different cancers; however, the role of PET/CT in PDAC is continually evolving and currently not well established. Studies have shown the potential of PET/CT in guiding the management of patients with PDAC, with possible added benefit over anatomic imaging with CT or MRI in certain scenarios. PET/CT may be useful in diagnosis, initial staging, treatment response assessment, differentiation of recurrent tumor from post-treatment fibrosis, and radiotherapy planning. Additionally, PET/CT may be a cost-effective modality due to upstaging of patients originally deemed as surgical candidates. Recently, the advent of simultaneous PET/MRI represents an exciting advancement in hybrid functional imaging with potential applications in the imaging of PDAC. The advantages of PET/MRI include simultaneous acquisition to improve registration of fusion images, lower radiation dose, superior soft tissue contrast, and availability of multiparametric imaging. Studies are underway to evaluate the utility of PET/MRI in PDAC, including in initial staging and treatment response assessment and to determine the subgroup of patients that will benefit from PET/MRI. Further studies are warranted in both PET/CR and PET/MRI to better understand the role of these modalities in PDAC.

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Antioxidant enzyme activities of Folsomia candida and avoidance of soil metal contamination

Abstract

Induction of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the avoidance of potentially toxic metals in soil by Folsomia candida were investigated. Both laboratory-spiked and field-polluted agricultural soils were used. Cadmium (Cd) concentrations in body tissues, animal avoidance behaviour and physico-chemical properties of the field soils were also determined. In laboratory Cd-spiked soils, the CAT and SOD activities in the Cd treatments were 71.1–94.7 and 1.31–4.55 times higher than in the control, respectively. In field-polluted agricultural soils, the CAT and POD activities generally increased with increasing pollution index (PI _Nemerow ) of soil Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. The CAT, POD and SOD activities at different PI _Nemerow were 65.7–128, 30.1–180 and 36.5–95.8% higher than in the control, respectively. In line with the enzyme activities, Cd concentrations in the animal bodies were 8.31–15.1 and 3.21–10.0 times higher than in the control in spiked and field-polluted soils, respectively. Avoidance behaviour also increased with increasing metal concentrations in both soils. The effects of metals on CAT, POD or SOD activity were influenced by soil properties such as soil texture and pH. These results indicate that the antioxidant enzymes activities of F. candida can be induced by heavy metals and potentially used to assess the toxicity, and also that soil properties must be considered in the analysis of enzyme activities in different types of field soils.

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IJMS, Vol. 18, Pages 2427: Treatment Approaches to Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

IJMS, Vol. 18, Pages 2427: Treatment Approaches to Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences doi: 10.3390/ijms18112427

Authors: Paolo Gisondi Micol Del Giglio Giampiero Girolomoni

Psoriasis is a common disease, which has a considerable impact on patients and the health care system. Treatment approaches to the disease may be various because some issues are not definitely addressed. Moreover, the therapeutic paradigms are continuously changing because of the recent approval of new treatments for psoriasis such as interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitors and apremilast. In this review, the factors influencing psoriasis severity, the indications for systemic treatments, the overall parameters to be considered in the treatment choice, life style interventions, and the recommendations for the use, screening, and monitoring of systemic therapies available including acitretin, cyclosporine, methotrexate, apremilast, adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, and ustekinumab are discussed. Finally, treatment approaches in special patient populations including children, the elderly, pregnant women, patients with a history of neoplasm, and candidates for surgical procedures are reported.

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GBCA study contradicts past gadolinium retention results

In results they described as "unexpected" and "controversial," Norwegian researchers...

Read more on AuntMinnieEurope.com

Related Reading:

Evidence mounts: Use macrocyclic GBCAs in pediatric MRI

New method painlessly measures gadolinium in bone

A short and critical approach to contrast agent safety

New controversy emerges over gadolinium contrast agents

ISMRM offers guidelines for gadolinium MRI contrast

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Manganese Based Alternative to Gadolinium: Journal Watch

The use of gadolinium-based contrast agents in MR images has become one of radiology's most debated topic.  In a study published in Radiology, a manganese-based contrast agent, manganese-N-picolyl-N,N',N'-trans-1,2-cyclohexenediaminetriacetate (Mn-PyC3A) is shown  enable contrast-enhanced MR angiography with comparable contrast enhancement to gadolinium-based agents and may overcome concerns regarding gadolinium-associated toxicity and retention.   Eric M. Gale et al compared contrast material–enhanced MR angiography  in baboons by using Mn-PyC3A and Gd-DTPA. 

Reference and Further Reading 

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Reaction Time Is Negatively Associated with Corpus Callosum Area in the Early Stages of CADASIL [ADULT BRAIN]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Reaction time was recently recognized as a marker of subtle cognitive and behavioral alterations in the early clinical stages of CADASIL, a monogenic cerebral small-vessel disease. In unselected patients with CADASIL, brain atrophy and lacunes are the main imaging correlates of disease severity, but MR imaging correlates of reaction time in mildly affected patients are unknown. We hypothesized that reaction time is independently associated with the corpus callosum area in the early clinical stages of CADASIL.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Twenty-six patients with CADASIL without dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination score > 24 and no cognitive symptoms) and without disability (modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 1) were compared with 29 age- and sex-matched controls. Corpus callosum area was determined on 3D-T1 MR imaging sequences with validated methodology. Between-group comparisons were performed with t tests or ² tests when appropriate. Relationships between reaction time and corpus callosum area were tested using linear regression modeling.

RESULTS:

Reaction time was significantly related to corpus callosum area in patients (estimate = –7.4 x 10³, standard error = 3.3 x 10³, P = .03) even after adjustment for age, sex, level of education, and scores of depression and apathy (estimate = –12.2 x 10³, standard error = 3.8 x 10³, P = .005). No significant relationship was observed in controls.

CONCLUSIONS:

Corpus callosum area, a simple and robust imaging parameter, appears to be an independent correlate of reaction time at the early clinical stages of CADASIL. Further studies will determine whether corpus callosum area can be used as an outcome in future clinical trials in CADASIL or in more prevalent small-vessel diseases.

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