This power laser system can increase the volume of laser-induced necrosis in liver metastases with a single application, thereby simplifying and accelerating the treatment of larger lesions.

Our results showed that Tc-99m HMPAO can be used to label ABMMN cells for in vivo cell visualization, and that brain SPECT imaging with labeled ABMMN cells is a feasible noninvasive method for studying the fate of transplanted cells in vivo. Additionally, our findings demonstrate the localization of these intra-arterially injected cells.

To determine the safety and efficacy of gadopentetate dimeglumine as a bowel contrast agent, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (0.5 T) was performed with a formulation of gadopentetate dimeglumine (1.0 mmol/L of gadopentetate dimeglumine, 15 g/L of mannitol, 6-17 mL/kg) in 133 patients with intraabdominal mass lesions. Mostly short-lived gastrointestinal side effects were noted in 32% of patients. Gadopentetate dimeglumine provided uniform hyperintense marking of the bowel and contrast enhancement in the region of interest in 81% of patients. Among 78 patients with images obtained both before and after administration of contrast material, post-contrast improvement of lesion delineation was found in 62%. Among 55 patients with only postcontrast images, gadopentetate dimeglumine proved useful in 65%. Intravenous injection of scopolamine or glucagon effectively eliminated "ghost" images of the opacified bowel in 105 of 109 cases. The authors conclude that gadopentetate dimeglumine is a safe and effective bowel contrast agent for MR imaging.

The purpose of this first patient study (phase II) was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of a new echo contrast agent at transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (US). Twenty patients were selected from a group of 242 patients undergoing conventional transcranial Doppler US who had low (n = 18) or absent (n = 2) Doppler signals from the middle cerebral artery (MCA). The extent and duration of Doppler signal increase was measured in 30 MCAs and in 14 basilar arteries following the intravenous injection of a transpulmonary galactose microparticle suspension (SH U 508 A) at three concentrations (200, 300, and 400 mg/mL). Doppler waveform analysis became possible in 93% (28 of 30) of the MCAs following injection. The maximal increase in average Doppler signal intensity (11 dB at 200 mg/mL, 15 dB at 300 mg/mL, and 17 dB at 400 mg/mL) and the increase in average duration of the signal enhancement (163 seconds at 200 mg/mL, 219 seconds at 300 mg/mL, and 240 seconds at 400 mg/mL) depended on contrast agent concentration. Doppler waveform analysis became possible in 79% (11 of 14) of the basilar arteries. The intravenous injection of this new echo contrast agent markedly increases Doppler signal intensity in patients with nondiagnostic results at conventional Doppler US.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common cause of dementia. The diagnosis of DLB is particularly important because these patients show good response to cholinesterase inhibitors. Clinical and neuroimaging criteria for DLB have not been acceptable for predictive accuracy. We report a case of progressive dementia in which the differentiation of DLB and Alzheimer disease (AD) on the basis of clinical criteria alone was not possible. The patient was admitted to the hospital because he became worse after he had started treatment for severe AD. Both MRI and brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy were normal. The patient underwent myocardial scintigraphy with I-123 MIBG showing marked reduction in cardiac MIBG accumulation. The heart to mediastinum ratio of MIBG uptake was impaired in both early and delayed images. FDG-PET scan before and after activation with a visual attention task showed occipital cortex hypometabolism as compared with AD and a normal control. This case illustrates the value of combining activated brain FDG PET and cardiac MIBG. The association of these 2 techniques could be used as a potential diagnostic tool in a patient with dementia misdiagnosed as AD.

Thirty-nine patients with Graves ophthalmopathy were examined with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 0.5 T with use of a surface coil. T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo images were obtained, and T2 relaxation times of eye muscles and retrobulbar fat were calculated from a multiecho sequence. Normal values for T2 relaxation times of eye muscle were obtained by examining nine control subjects. MR imaging demonstrated eye muscle enlargement in 23 patients. Visual examination of T2-weighted and calculated T2 images showed areas of high signal intensity in enlarged eye muscles of 12 of 23 patients. Calculated T2 relaxation times of eye muscles differed significantly between control subjects and patients with stage III and IV disease. Signal intensity characteristics of these changes, as well as their correlation with well-known histologic findings, suggested their interpretation as edema caused by acute inflammation. Since computed tomography is not able to depict eye muscle edema, the MR findings of structural changes within enlarged eye muscles might have an impact on therapeutic decisions concerning the application of anti-inflammatory drugs.

The authors recommend combined SE imaging and MR angiography for ruling out tumor in patients with pulsatile tinnitus.

A phase III trial was conducted in 40 patients with known or suspected skull base tumors to evaluate the safety and efficacy of high-dose gadodiamide injection for use as a paramagnetic contrast medium in conventional and dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Contrast material enhancement was assessed dynamically with use of a gradient-recalled sequence. The time-intensity curve of selected regions of interest showed a reproducible dropout effect in the form of a dip in the curve during the early enhancement of the sigmoid sinus and jugular bulb; the same phenomenon was observed in all glomus tumors of the skull base, regardless of size or location. In contrast, schwannomas, meningiomas, and a variety of other lesions showed a continuous increase in the time-intensity curve. The drop-out sign, which is probably a result of a paramagnetic phenomenon during the early phase of enhancement, seems to be specific for glomus tumors. High-dose gadodiamide injection may show a specific dynamic pattern for glomus tumors, allowing differentiation from other tumors of the middle and posterior skull base.