Visceral and ectopic fat accumulation might have an impact on the atherosclerotic calcification of abdominal arteries. The pattern of calcification of the abdominal aorta and its branches is not fully investigated. We retrospectively analyzed the abdominopelvic MSCT images and calculated calcification volumes of the abdominal aorta, celiac trunk, superior and inferior mesenteric arteries, and both common and external iliac arteries. On the same MSCT scans, a visceral fat volume and ectopic fat deposits (liver-to-spleen ratio (L/S) and pancreas-to-spleen (P/S) ratio) were also measured. The results showed that calcifications of the abdominal aorta and its branches were associated with visceral fat volume, less strongly associated with L/S, and not associated with the P/S ratio. The abdominal aorta, the common iliac and external iliac arteries were more calcified arteries compared to the celiac trunk and superior and mesenterial arteries. In conclusion, visceral fat has a stronger effect on abdominopelvic arteries’ calcification than ectopic fat. Visceral aortic branches are generally less calcified than iliac arteries.
7 August 2024 in Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
Background: Invasive lobular cancer is the second most common subtype of invasive breast cancer. Due to the wide diversity of histopathological, clinical, and radiological presentations, it can provide diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the highest sensitivity for its detection and the most accurate determination of invasive lobular cancer extent. The aim of our pictorial review was to demonstrate the different presentations of invasive lobular cancer on MRI and thus facilitate the interpretation of imaging findings for radiologists. Main body of the The pictorial essay carefully extracted six different MRI presentations of an invasive lobular cancer with brief histopathological and clinical patient data. We showed that invasive lobular cancer presentation on MRI varied, ranged from a single focus to single and multiple lesions, non-mass enhancements of various distributions, and in some cases with nonspecific enhancement curves. Conclusions: This pictorial essay presented a spectrum of MRI findings of invasive lobular cancer, showing the variety of their appearances. Considering the variety of MRI imaging, the radiologist sometimes has to look for other diagnostic methods for the final interpretation of the imaging findings. We believe that the presentation of different cases will educate radiologists and help in making appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.
This is the first case report where two patients were under uniform denosumab administration protocol in diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis (DSO) treatment and were closely monitored for 18 months. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the beneficial effects of denosumab in DSO treatment as well as pain relief and the significant lack of long-term use due to poorer outcomes after repeated use. DSO of the jaw is a poorly understood rare chronic disease the treatment of which is still very challenging despite a rapid development of medicine. Different medical treatments have been proposed without any significant long-lasting success. Bisphosphonates have offered substantial clinical benefit in DSO therapy, but due to harmful pharmacodynamic properties, denosumab therapy has been used to replace bisphosphonate therapy. Patients had a reduction in pain intensity with each subsequent application of denosumab but with less success than the first administration of denosumab. This case report has shown that denosumab could be a promising conservative treatment option for pain treatment in patients suffering from DSO.
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has extrapulmonary manifestations, such as cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between the type and extent of emphysema with thoracic aorta calcification (TAC) and bone mineral density (BMD) at Th4, Th8, and L1 vertebrae. Methods: Emphysema was described by computed tomography parameters (both Fleischner classification and low attenuation value percentage, LAV%) and the clinical FEV1/FVC ratio (Tiffeneau–Pinelli index, TI, TI < 0.7; TI > 0.7). Results: Of 200 included patients (median age 64, 33% women), signs of clinical obstruction (TI) were observed in 104 patients, which had significantly lower BMD and more heavy TAC. BMD correlated negatively with LAV%, Rho = −0.16 to −0.23, while a positive correlation of aortic calcification with LAV% was observed, Rho = 0.30 to 0.33. Multiple linear regression showed that age and TI < 0.7 were independent predictors of BMD, β = −0.20 to −0.40, and β = −0.21 to −0.25; age and hypercholesterolemia were independent predictors of TCA, β = 0.61 and β = 0.19. Conclusions: Clinical TI and morphological LAV% parameters correlated with BMD and TAC, in contrast to Fleischer-graded emphysema, which showed no correlation. However, only TI was an independent predictor of BMD, while the morphologically described type and extent of emphysema could not independently predict any extrapulmonary manifestation.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps values of breast lesions presenting as non-mass enhancement (NME) on MRI could predict benign or malignant pathohistological findings. Materials and Methods: This retrospective single-center study included 136 female patients with NME and corresponding ultrasound correlate and a subsequent ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy. The patients were subdivided into benign or malignant subgroups based on pathology reports, which served as the gold standard. Blinded to the pathological results, two radiologists independently measured the ADC values of the depicted NME using punctate, 10 mm and whole tumor regions of interest (ROIs) wherever applicable. The mean of all measurements was also analyzed and compared with the pathologic subdivision. Results: The sensitivity of whole tumor ROI in detecting benign NME is 91% compared to 74% for 10 mm ROI and 78% for punctate ROI. No significant differences in ADC values were observed when comparing fatty breast tissue and dense breast tissue. Conclusions: There were differences in ADC values between benign and malignant findings using all types of measurements, where the whole tumor ROI was the most sensitive.