The concentration of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the blood is higher in patients with active multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to those with inactive disease. The concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α in the blood is hi...

The early identification of aggressive forms of cancer is of high importance in treating papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Disease dissemination is a major factor influencing patient survival. Mutation status of BRAF oncogene, BRAF V600E, is proposed to be an indicator of disease recurrence; however, its influence on PTC dissemination has not been deciphered. This study aimed to explore the association of the frequency of BRAF V600E alleles in PTC with disease dissemination. In this study, 173 PTC samples were analyzed, measuring the proportion of BRAF V600E alleles by qPCR, which was then normalized against the proportion of tumor cells. Semiquantitative analysis of BRAF V600E mutant protein was performed by immunohistochemistry. The BRAF V600E mutation was present in 60% of samples, while the normalized frequency of mutated BRAF alleles ranged from 1.55% to 92.06%. There was no significant association between the presence and/or proportion of the BRAF V600E mutation with the degree of PTC dissemination. However, the presence of the BRAF mutation was significantly linked with angioinvasion. This study’s results suggest that there is a heterogeneous distribution of the BRAF mutation and the presence of oligoclonal forms of PTC. It is likely that the BRAF mutation alone does not significantly contribute to PTC aggressiveness.

Objectives: Single photon emission computed tomography with Tc-99m hexamethylpropylenamine oxime provides information on brain perfusion distribution in psychiatric patients. The assessment of cerebral blood flow using different normalization structures could be diverse. Methods: Quantification programs may improve diagnosis, but adequate normalization structure must be selected. We compared regional brain perfusion in twelve brain regions associated with schizophrenia using two different normalization structures - whole brain and cerebellum - in antipsychotic drug- naive patients during the first episode of schizophrenia. Results: We analyzed 12 brain regions associated with schizophrenia in 50 patients with the first episode of schizophrenia. Z-scores for each entire region, as well as left and right Z-scores, were calculated based on an age-matched normal database. We chose two normalization structures for Z-score calculation, the whole brain and the cerebellum. Conclusion: Based on the results, we conclude that both normalization structures can be used. However, the highest Z-score matches were observed for the gyrus rectus, orbitofrontal region, inferior medial frontal gyrus, medial orbital gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, superior medial frontal gyrus, and caudate, while the lowest matches were found for the medial temporal region and thalamus.

Background: We investigated the potential use of SPECT quantification in addition to qualitative brain perfusion analysis for the detection of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. The question is how to normalize brain activity to be able to quantitatively detect perfusion patterns. Usually, brain activity is normalized to a structure considered unaffected by the disease. Methods: Brain [99mTc]-HMPAO SPECT was performed as a method to detect brain perfusion patterns. The patterns of abnormal brain perfusion cannot always be reliably and qualitatively assessed when dealing with rare diseases. Recent advances in SPECT quantification using commercial software have enabled more objective and detailed analysis of brain perfusion. The cerebellum and whole brain were used as the normalization structures and were compared with visual analysis. Results: The quantification analysis performed with whole brain normalization confirmed right parietal lobe hypoperfusion while also detecting statistically significant left-to-right perfusion differences between the temporal lobe and thalamus. Whole brain normalization further described bilateral frontal lobe hyperperfusion, predominantly of the left lobe, and was in accordance with visual analysis. Conclusion: SPECT quantitative brain perfusion analysis, using the whole brain as the normalization structure rather than the cerebellum, in this case, improved confidence in the visual detection of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and provided unexpected solutions to atypical psychiatric dilemmas.

Lewy body dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and is considered to be the second most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Because of the complexity of clinical presentation, it is often misdiagnosed and mistaken for...