ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00668343. This interventional study provides Class I evidence stating that adding simvastatin 40 mg/day to IFNb 1a 30 microg a week in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis may reduce the relapse rate (moderate effect size r = 0.29) (p = 0.01) compared with treatment with IFNb 1a alone.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the size, location, or number of fibroids affects therapeutic efficacy or complications of uterine artery embolization (UAE). Patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids (n = 101) were treated by selective bilateral UAE using 500- to 710-mum polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles. Baseline measures of clinical symptoms, sonography, and MRI taken before the procedure were compared to those taken 1, 3, 6, and 12 months later. Complications and outcomes were analyzed for associations with fibroid size, location, and number. Reductions in mean fibroid volume were similar in patients with single (66.6 +/- 21.5%) and multiple (67.4 +/- 25.0%) fibroids (p-value = 0.83). Menstrual improvement occurred in patients with single (93.3%) and multiple (72.2%) fibroids (p = 0.18). Changes in submucosal and other fibroids were not significantly different between the two groups (p's > 0.56). Linear regression analysis between primary fibroid volume as independent variable and percentage reduction of fibroid volume after 1 year yielded an R(2) of 0.083 and the model coefficient was not statistically significant (p = 0.072). Multivariate regression models revealed no statistically or clinically significant coefficients or odds ratios for three independent variables (primary fibroid size, total number, and fibroid location) and all outcome variables (percent reduction of uterus and fibroid volumes in 1 year, improvement of clinical symptoms [menstrual, bulk related, and urinary] in 1 year, and complications after UAE). In conclusion, neither the success rate nor the probability of complications was affected by the primary fibroid size, location, or total number of fibroids.

The decision rule developed by the authors appears to be 100% sensitive and 46% specific for positive findings on brain CT and will, in developing countries, help clarify the decision to obtain scans.

[12,13], and cervical ectopic pregnancy [14][15][16] has been reported.The effects of embolization on ovarian function are important when preservation of fertility is desired. Few articles have focused on the effect of UAE for fibroids and its outcome on future fertility and pregnancy. To the best of our knowledge, pregnancy after UAE has been described in the literature in the form of case reports [17][18][19][20], a review article [21], and retrospective reports of case series [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. As of March 2008, more than 170 patients worldwide had become pregnant after UAE. At a university-affiliated referral hospital in Iran, we evaluated the pregnancies of women who underwent UAE for symptomatic fibroids and desired to become pregnant. Subjects and Methods From Wo m e n's I m ag i ng • O r ig i n a l R e s e a rc h Uterine fibroids are among the most common benign tumors of the female pelvis that cause abnormal menstrual bleeding. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) in the management of uterine myomas was first reported by Ravina et al. in 1995 [1]. Their promising results were confirmed in several uncontrolled cohort studies, which showed an approximately 50% decrease in uterine volume and relief of symptoms in 80-90% of patients [2]. The advantages of UAE include lower cost and more rapid recovery than can be achieved with conventional therapies [3][4][5]. The efficacy of uterine embolization in the management of pelvic hemorrhage has been well documented in obstetrics and gynecology [6][7][8]. Successful pregnancy outcome after embolization for obstetric hemorrhage [9,10] Please see the commentary on this article, which appears on the following pages. W O M E N ' S I M A G I N G PROOF Copyrighted Material For Review Only • Not for DistributionPage Copy OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to report on pregnancies and their outcome after uterine artery embolization for uterine fibroids. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. From 2001 to 2004, 102 patients (mean age, [± SD]35.7 ± 6.4 years; range, 20-48 years) with symptomatic uterine fibroids underwent uterine artery embolization with 500-to 710-µm polyvinyl alcohol particles. The mean uterine volume was 552 ± 649 cm 3 (range, 94-4,656 cm 3 ), and the dominant fibroid size was 228 ± 359 cm 3 (range, 14-2,618 cm 3 ) before the procedure. During the 2-year follow-up period, the patients were asked whether they were trying to achieve pregnancy and whether they were successful. We obtained pregnancy and obstetric records of the pregnant women from physicians' offices and hospitals.RESULTS. Among 102 women who underwent bilateral uterine artery embolization, 23 (22.5%) were seeking to become pregnant, and 14 of the 23 (61%) became pregnant, nine having been nulliparous. One patient had two pregnancies. Fourteen pregnancies were spontaneous, and one was achieved by zygote intrafallopian transfer. Two miscarriages occurred, one in the 12th and one in the 16th week of gestation. The other 13 pregnancies went to term, were uncomplicated, and ended in elective...

Background Targeted localized biopsies and treatments for diffuse gliomas rely on accurate identification of tissue subregions, for which current MRI techniques lack specificity. Purpose To explore the complementary and competitive roles of a variety of conventional and quantitative MRI methods for distinguishing subregions of brain gliomas. Study Type Prospective. Population Fifty-one tissue specimens were collected using image-guided localized biopsy surgery from 10 patients with newly diagnosed gliomas. Field Strength/Sequence Conventional and quantitative MR images consisting of pre- and postcontrast T1w, T2w, T2-FLAIR, T2-relaxometry, DWI, DTI, IVIM, and DSC-MRI were acquired preoperatively at 3T. Assessment Biopsy specimens were histopathologically attributed to glioma tissue subregion categories of active tumor (AT), infiltrative edema (IE), and normal tissue (NT) subregions. For each tissue sample, a feature vector comprising 15 MRI-based parameters was derived from preoperative images and assessed by a machine learning algorithm to determine the best multiparametric feature combination for characterizing the tissue subregions. Statistical Tests For discrimination of AT, IE, and NT subregions, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and for pairwise tissue subregion differentiation, Tukey honest significant difference, and Games-Howell tests were applied (P < 0.05). Cross-validated feature selection and classification methods were implemented for identification of accurate multiparametric MRI parameter combination. Results After exclusion of 17 tissue specimens, 34 samples (AT = 6, IE = 20, and NT = 8) were considered for analysis. Highest accuracies and statistically significant differences for discrimination of IE from NT and AT from NT were observed for diffusion-based parameters (AUCs >90%), and the perfusion-derived parameter as the most accurate feature in distinguishing IE from AT. A combination of “CBV, MD, T2_ISO, FLAIR” parameters showed high diagnostic performance for identification of the three subregions (AUC ~90%). Data Conclusion Integration of a few quantitative along with conventional MRI parameters may provide a potential multiparametric imaging biomarker for predicting the histopathologically proven glioma tissue subregions. Level of Evidence 2 Technical Efficacy Stage 3

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents open questions in how we clinically diagnose and assess disease course. Recently, chest computed tomography (CT) has shown utility for COVID-19 diagnosis. In this study, we developed Deep COVID DeteCT (DCD), a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) that uses the entire chest CT volume to automatically predict COVID-19 (COVID+) from non-COVID-19 (COVID−) pneumonia and normal controls. We discuss training strategies and differences in performance across 13 international institutions and 8 countries. The inclusion of non-China sites in training significantly improved classification performance with area under the curve (AUCs) and accuracies above 0.8 on most test sites. Furthermore, using available follow-up scans, we investigate methods to track patient disease course and predict prognosis.

The non-EPI MRI technique is a more accurate method in detecting middle ear cholesteatoma in comparison to other conventional sequences.

Black tea is a simple and safe negative oral contrast agent which reduces the signal intensity of gastrointestinal tract fluid and provides improved depiction of the MPD, the distal CBD and the ampulla during MRCP. Key Points •Tea is an effective negative oral contrast agent for gastrointestinal MRI •Ingestion of black tea improves conspicuity of the distal CBD in MRCP.