Utilizing the publicly available neuroimaging database enabled by Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; http://adni.loni.usc.edu/), we have compared the performance of automated classification algorithms that differentiate AD vs. normal subjects using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). General linear model, scaled subprofile modeling and support vector machines were examined. Among the tested classification methods, support vector machine with Iterative Single Data Algorithm produced the best performance, i.e., sensitivity (0.84) × specificity (0.95), by 10-fold cross-validation. We have applied the same classification algorithm to four different datasets from ADNI, Health Science Centre (Winnipeg, Canada), Dong-A University Hospital (Busan, S. Korea) and Asan Medical Centre (Seoul, S. Korea). Our data analyses confirmed that the support vector machine with Iterative Single Data Algorithm showed the best performance in prediction of future development of AD from the prodromal stage (mild cognitive impairment), and that it was also sensitive to other types of dementia such as Parkinson’s Disease Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies, and that perfusion imaging using single photon emission computed tomography may achieve a similar accuracy to that of FDG-PET.

Local administration of steroids to the lungs in ventilated newborn infants can minimize the harmful side effects that occur with systemic administration. An efficient system of drug delivery that provides uniform distribution within the lungs is essential for the treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In this study we compare surfactant with 0.9% saline solution as vehicles for the direct instillation of a steroid (budesonide) into the lungs. Twenty-two anesthetized, ventilated rabbits received [3H]budesonide in either 0.9% saline or surfactant, administered through an endotracheal tube. Before drug administration, bronchial lavage was performed on half of the animals to serve as a model for surfactant deficiency. Lung samples were analyzed by both autoradiography (alveolar versus airway distribution) and liquid scintillation counting (central versus peripheral deposition). As expected, the delivered concentration of [3H]budesonide decreased as airway size decreased and branching increased. Significantly less [3H]budesonide was deposited in the alveolar spaces of all study groups compared with that deposited in the small and large airways (p < 0.05). However, both vehicles were equally efficient in delivering [3H]budesonide to the lungs. Although the alveolar and peripheral areas received less (4-11%) of the drug than the central tissue (14-28%), this was consistent among all the groups and was not affected by altered lung compliance. Therefore, either surfactant or saline could be used to efficiently and reliably deliver budesonide to the lungs at a level greater than that reported using nebulizers. Because normal saline is currently used for tracheal toilette, it is likely to be preferred considering the increased costs associated with surfactant.

Background: Transient arrhythmias can affect transient ischemic dilation (TID) ratios. This study was initiated to evaluate the frequency and effect of normal heart rate change on TID measures in routine clinical practice.

Percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the pancreas presents a slightly higher risk of complications than does biopsy of other abdominal organs, occasionally leading to death. In the case we discuss, computed tomographic (CT)-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy of a pseudolesion of the uncinate process resulting in hemorrhagic pancreatitis and the death of the patient within 1 week of the procedure.

No abstract