Both 18F-FDG PET and MRI provided high sensitivity for diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis in patients with suspected cardiac involvement, but the specificity of (18)F-FDG PET was not as high as previously reported. The different distributions of the findings in the two modalities suggest the potential of 18F-FDG PET and MRI in detecting different pathological processes in the heart.

Objective-The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of age, sex, and hypertension (HTN) on aortic atherosclerotic burden using cardiovascular MRI (CMR) in a free-living longitudinally followed cohort. Methods and Results-1763 participants (829 M and 934 F; 38 to 88 years of age) of the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort underwent CMR of the thoracoabdominal aorta using an ECG-gated 2D T2-weighted black-blood sequence. Of these, 1726 subjects (96%) with interpretable CMR were characterized by sex, age-quartile, and presence or absence of HTN and clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Aortic plaque prevalence and volume increased with increasing age in both sexes. For the nonhypertensive (no-HTN) group, plaque was identified in 702 (46%) with greater prevalence in women than in men (PϽ0.006). HTN was associated with greater aortic plaque burden (PϽ0.02). The 200 subjects with clinical CVD had greater plaque burden than subjects without CVD (PϽ0.0001). Conclusions-In this free-living longitudinally followed cohort, subclinical aortic atherosclerosis was seen in nearly half of subjects and increased with advancing age. HTN was associated with increased aortic plaque burden. Among no-HTN subjects, women had greater plaque burden than men. These data suggest that subclinical atherosclerosis is more common in no-HTN women and emphasize the importance of focusing on preventive measures in both sexes. [2][3][4][5][6] and in such studies, HTN is associated with greater prevalence and extent of aortic and coronary atherosclerosis. 3,5,6 A growing body of evidence has linked subclinical coronary 7 and aortic 8 -10 atherosclerosis to increased risk for clinically overt CVD, suggesting that early diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis in the preclinical stage may reduce CVD sequelae such as myocardial infarction and stroke. However, beyond autopsy studies, our understanding of the relationship between age, sex, and HTN with aortic atherosclerotic burden is incomplete.There are several reports about the relationship between HTN and atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is greater in persons with HTN than nonhypertensive subjects, and the association between IMT and blood pressure parameters, particularly systolic blood pressure, was found to be independent of age and gender. 11-13 However, the influence of HTN on prevalence of aortic plaque burden in an adult population is unknown. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) offers unique advantages for assessment of the aorta and quantification of atherosclerotic plaque burden 14 -17 including the lack of ionizing radiation, while providing highly reproducible measures of aortic anatomy and atherosclerosis. 18 We sought to determine the relationship of age, sex, and HTN with aortic atherosclerotic prevalence and burden using CMR in a longitudinally followed free-living community based cohort. Methods Study Population and Sample SelectionThe design of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) has been detailed elsewhere. 19 Subjects considered for ...

In this randomized trial of black tea intake over 6 months among older adults with known cardiovascular risk factors, black tea did not appreciably influence any traditional or novel biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. Longer randomized trials are needed to verify the inverse association of tea with risk of cardiovascular disease seen in cohort studies and identify potential candidate mechanisms for such an association.

The EFA is significantly correlated with the EFV. The EFA is a simple, quick method for representing the time-consuming EFV, which has been used as a predictive indicator of cardiovascular diseases.

Rapid Estimation of Split Renal Function in Kidney Donors using software developed for Computed Tomographic Renal Volumetry AbstractPurpose: To evaluate the speed and precision of split renal volume(SRV) measurement (SRV), which is the ratio of unilateral renal volume to bilateral renal volume, using a newly developed software for computed tomographic (CT) volumetry and to investigate the usefulness of SRV for the estimation of split renal function (SRF) in kidney donors.Method: Both dynamic CT and renal scintigraphy in 28 adult potential living renal donors were the subjects of this study. We calculated SRV using the newly developed volumetric software built into a PACS viewer (n-SRV), and compared it with SRV calculated using a conventional workstation, ZIOSOFT (z-SRV). The correlation with split renal function (SRF) using 99m Tc-DMSA scintigraphy was also investigated.Results: The time required for volumetry of bilateral kidneys with the newly developed software (16.7 ± 3.9sec) was significantly shorter than that of the workstation (102.6 ± 38.9 sec, p<0.0001). The results of n-SRV (49.7 ± 4.0%) were highly consistent with those of z-SRV (49.9 ± 3.6%), with a mean discrepancy of 0.12 ± 0.84%. The SRF also agreed well with the n-SRV, with a mean discrepancy of 0.25 ± 1.65%. The dominant side determined by SRF and n-SRV showed agreement in 26 of 28 cases (92.9%).Conclusion: The newly developed software for CT volumetry was more rapid than the conventional workstation volumetry and just as accurate, and was suggested to be useful for the estimation of SRF and thus the dominant side in kidney donors.

Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor, mixed connective tissue variant (PMT-MCT) causes tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO). Most cases follow a benign clinical course, with rare occurrences of malignant transformation. We report a case of malignant PMT-MCT and review previous malignant cases to identify predictive factors for transformation. A 13-yr-old female, who presented with hypophosphatemic rickets, elevated serum intact fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels, and a nodule in the back, received a diagnosis of TIO because of the benign PMT histopathology. After resection of the primary tumor, regular imaging analyses did not indicate any relapse. At 17 years of age, a tumor developed in the left leg and increased in size. The resected tumor showed a histopathology of pleomorphic sarcoma positive for the TP53 mutation. Despite amputation of the affected leg, the patient died due to multiple metastases at 18 years of age. A literature review revealed that 14 out of 15 reported malignant PMT-MCT tumors occurred in adults, and found no predictive factors for malignant transformation and treatment outcome. Changes in size or number of the tumors along with intact FGF23 levels have been considered as the only sign of malignant transformation. This pediatric case report and literature review indicate the need for prolonged regular monitoring for PMT-MCT.

The purpose of this article is to review the characteristics of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pericardium and pericardial diseases. Because patients with pericardial diseases usually present with nonspecific symptoms, these diseases may not be detected until they have reached an advanced stage. It is therefore important to distinguish between normal pericardial structure and disease. Multiplanar reconstruction images of CT and MRI are useful for evaluating faint changes of the pericardium. The specific pericardial diseases described in this article include pericardial cyst, constrictive pericarditis, pericarditis with radiation pericarditis, postoperative pericardial hematoma, and cardiac tamponade due to a paracardiac mass (lymphoma).

miodarone is a unique anti-arrhythmic drug originally developed for angina. 1 Because of its clinically proven effectiveness, amidodarone is now used to control atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. [2][3][4] Unfortunately, many adverse effects are related to the use of this agent, especially pulmonary toxicity, so called amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity (APT). 5,6 The condition of APT is extremely serious and difficult to diagnose, with an incidence of up to 13%. Patients with APT may have an associated mortality rate of 10% to 23%. 5 The toxic effects of amiodarone seem to be related to dose and duration of therapy. However, a meta-analysis of studies using lowdose amiodarone revealed that the risk of experiencing pulmonary adverse effects was increased by twofold (1.9% vs 0.7%) compared with placebo treatment. 7 APT can be difficult to diagnose clinically, but early recognition of APT is important because discontinuation of amiodarone could prevent its progression. In clinical practice, despite all radiological tests such as chest X-ray or computed tomography (CT), the diagnosis of APT is often reached by a therapeutic test: corticotherapy, given after the discontinuation of amiodarone.Since the first report describing the patterns of CT findings in cases of APT 15 years ago, several studies on CT findings have been carried out. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Kulhman et al have established the value of CT using standard techniques that provide a means of identifying patients with significant pulmonary accumulation of amiodarone. 13 High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is well established for noninvasive evaluation of the thin structural details of the normal and pathological pulmonary parenchyma. 14 Recently, HRCT findings of reversible APT 15 and symptomatic patients with APT 16 were reported.The technique of HRCT is usually performed in a supine position. Atelectasis is commonly seen in the dependent lung in both healthy and diseased subjects on ordinal HRCT in supine positions, resulting in a 'dependent density' or 'subpleural line'. However, there have been several reports claiming that HRCT in prone positions can be a useful modality to exclude the effect of gravity in patients with asbestosis. 17 Volpe et al reported the usefulness of HRCT in prone positions when chest radiographs show normal findings, possibly abnormal findings, or minimal abnormalities indicative of diffuse lung disease. 18 Therefore, an additional HRCT in prone positions may add important information by countering the effects of gravity on pulmonary vascularity. However, there is no study to evaluate APT by HRCT using a combination of supine and prone positions. The aim of the current study was to describe the effectiveness and feasibility of HRCT in patients in supine and prone positions to detect APT. Serum KL-6 could be a useful maker of APT. Background The aim of the present study was to describe the effectiveness and feasibility of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in patients in supine and prone positions to detect am...