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The most effective method for revealing insulinomas is a combined imaging protocol that consists of both dual-phase thin-section multidetector CT and endoscopic sonography.

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Heart involvement, including primary myocardial involvement, is very common in systemic sclerosis. There is strong evidence that primary myocardial involvement is related to repeat focal ischaemic injury causing subsequent irreversible myocardial fibrosis. Clinically evident cardiac involvement is recognized to be a poor prognostic factor; thus preclinical identification is highly encouraged. The severity of heart involvement has been confirmed recently. Echocardiography, including pulsed tissue Doppler echocardiography, is the cornerstone of routine heart assessment. Myocardial perfusion may be assessed by single photon emission computed tomography. If available, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging should be considered as it allows simultaneous measurement of ventricular volumes and function and myocardial perfusion, and assessment of possible inflammation and/or fibrosis. Biological variables, such as B-type natriuretic peptides, are highly relevant, valuable markers of global heart involvement in systemic sclerosis and should be considered for screening of patients and/or research purposes.

Background: Cardiac involvement in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy has been recognised as an important prognostic factor, but treatment remains empirical. Objective: To investigate the effects of corticosteroids and immunosuppressors on myocarditis in patients with inflammatory myopathies. Methods: Patients with inflammatory myositis of recent onset who had not received treatment were evaluated for associated myocarditis by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and reinvestigated after treatment with high dose corticosteroids and immunosuppressors. Results: Four patients with histologically proven myositis were included. Two patients with polymyositis had cardiac clinical symptoms. Two other patients with dermatomyositis and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis-polymyositis overlap syndrome were asymptomatic. In three cases the usual conventional screening tests were normal. For all patients an area of contrast enhancement and hypokinesia detected by cardiac MRI was markedly reduced after treatment with corticosteroids and immunosuppressors for 6 months. Conclusion: Treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone followed by prednisone and immunosuppressive therapy seems to be effective for treating myocardial involvement in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, either alone or presenting as overlap syndromes. Cardiovascular MRI is a non-invasive technique that may be a powerful tool for diagnosis and monitoring of myocardial inflammation in this setting.

These preliminary results emphasize the occurrence of subclinical myocardial MRI abnormalities in patients with ongoing systemic sarcoidosis.