Etiology is a third major cause--in addition to type of organ-involved (soft-tissue/heart) and tracer type--of scintigraphic variability in cardiac amyloidosis. This is a highly relevant consideration for future studies. We conclude that 99mTc-DPD scintigraphy is a useful step in the workup of the differential diagnosis of TTR versus AL etiology in patients with documented cardiac amyloidosis.

Cognitive reserve (CR) prevents cognitive decline and delays neurodegeneration. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that lifelong bilingualism may act as CR delaying the onset of dementia by ∼4.5 y. Much controversy surrounds the issue of bilingualism and its putative neuroprotective effects. We studied brain metabolism, a direct index of synaptic function and density, and neural connectivity to shed light on the effects of bilingualism in vivo in Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Eighty-five patients with probable AD and matched for disease duration (45 German-Italian bilingual speakers and 40 monolingual speakers) were included. Notably, bilingual individuals were on average 5 y older than their monolingual peers. In agreement with our predictions and with models of CR, cerebral hypometabolism was more severe in the group of bilingual individuals with AD. The metabolic connectivity analyses crucially supported the neuroprotective effect of bilingualism by showing an increased connectivity in the executive control and the default mode networks in the bilingual, compared with the monolingual, AD patients. Furthermore, the degree of lifelong bilingualism (i.e., high, moderate, or low use) was significantly correlated to functional modulations in crucial neural networks, suggesting both neural reserve and compensatory mechanisms. These findings indicate that lifelong bilingualism acts as a powerful CR proxy in dementia and exerts neuroprotective effects against neurodegeneration. Delaying the onset of dementia is a top priority of modern societies, and the present in vivo neurobiological evidence should stimulate social programs and interventions to support bilingual or multilingual education and the maintenance of the second language among senior citizens.bilingualism | Alzheimer's dementia | fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET | brain reserve | brain metabolic connectivity

In localizing cancer within the prostate, comparable specificity was obtained with either 3D MR spectroscopy and MR imaging or PET/CT; however, PET/CT had lower sensitivity relative to 3D MR spectroscopy alone or combined with MR imaging.

No abstract