VMS imaging at approximately 70 keV yielded lower image noise and higher CNR than did 120-kVp CT for a given radiation dose. VMS imaging has the potential to replace 120-kVp CT as the standard CT imaging modality, since optimal VMS imaging may be expected to yield improved image quality in a patient with standard body habitus.

No abstract

No abstract

As compared with FBP, MBIR enables significant reduction of the image noise and artifacts and also better detection of noncalcified pulmonary nodules on ULDCT of the lung. Compared with LDCT-FBP images, ULDCT-MBIR images showed significantly reduced objective noise and comparable subjective image noise. Almost all of the noncalcified nodules and all of the calcified nodules could be detected on the ULDCT-MBIR images, when LDCT-FBP images were used as the reference.

t is widely recognized that accumulation of abdominal visceral fat is strongly related to the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). [1][2][3][4][5][6] Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the actual visceral fat of the heart deposited under the visceral layer of the pericardium and has the same origin as abdominal visceral fat. Pathological investigations revealed EAT and the adventitia of coronary arteries or myocardium to be contiguous, with no intervening structures. 7 The accumulation of EAT shows a good correlation with the volume of abdominal visceral fat and EAT is also known to be a rich source of free fatty acids and a number of bioactive molecules and inflammatory cytokines. [8][9][10][11] Some reports have suggested a crucial role of EAT in the development of CAD through changes in adipokine expressions in EAT, which promote pro-inflammatory characteristics, thereby possibly facilitating the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. [9][10][11] In fact, de Vos et al have reported that peri-coronary EAT thickness is strongly related to vascular risk factors and coronary calcification in post-menopausal women. 12 A recent study demonstrated that 64-slice multidetectorrow computed tomography (MDCT) is suitable for volumetric quantification of EAT with higher reproducibility than measurements of EAT thickness by echocardiography, and that excessive accumulation of EAT was associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. 13 MDCT provides noteworthy information about coronary arteries including not only the presence and degree of stenotic lesions but also of subclinical atherosclerotic plaques. 14-19 MDCT can identify atherosclerotic plaques, in vessels with only minimal angiographic disease, with high sensitivity and moderate specificity as compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Moreover, MDCT can detect significant atherosclerotic plaques in vessels with signs of positive remodeling, which tend to be underestimated by conventional coronary angiography (CAG). 20,21 We sought to determine the relationship between the epicardial fat volume and the severity and extent of atherosclerosis of the whole coronary tree using CAG and MDCT in patients presenting with a possible diagnosis of stable effort angina. The relationship between the epicardial fat volume measured by 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and the extension and severity of coronary atherosclerosis was investigated. Methods and Results: Both MDCT and conventional coronary angiography (CAG) were performed in 71 consecutive patients who presented with effort angina. The volume of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) was measured by MDCT. The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was assessed by evaluating the extension of coronary plaques in 790 segments using MDCT data, and the percentage diameter stenosis in 995 segments using CAG data. The estimated volume of EAT indexed by body surface area was defined as VEAT. Increased VEAT was associated with advanced age, male sex, degree of metabolic alterations, a history of acute corona...

Background Epicardial fat may play a role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). We explored the relationship of epicardial fat volume (EFV) with the presence and severity of CAD or myocardial perfusion abnormalities in a diverse, symptomatic patient population. Methods and Results Patients (n=380) with known or suspected CAD who underwent 320-detector row CT angiography, nuclear stress perfusion imaging, and clinically driven invasive coronary angiography for the CORE320 international study were included. EFV was defined as adipose tissue within the pericardial borders as assessed by CT utilizing semi-automatic software. We used linear and logistic regression models to assess the relationship of EFV with coronary calcium score, stenosis severity by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA), and myocardial perfusion abnormalities by SPECT. Median EFV among patients (median age 62.6 years) was 102 cm3 [interquartile range 53]. Calcium score ≥ 1 was present in 83% of patients with 59% having ≥ 1 coronary artery stenosis of ≥ 50% by QCA, and 49% having abnormal myocardial perfusion results by SPECT. There were no significant associations between EFV and CACS, presence severity of ≥ 50% stenosis by QCA, or abnormal myocardial perfusion by SPECT. Conclusions In a diverse population of symptomatic patients referred for invasive coronary angiography, we did not find associations of epicardial fat volume with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease or with myocardial perfusion abnormalities. The clinical significance of quantifying epicardial fat volume remains uncertain but may relate to the pathophysiology of acute coronary events rather than the presence of atherosclerotic disease.

We identified an autoantibody that reacts with calpastatin [an inhibitor protein of the calcium-dependent neutral protease calpain (EC 3.4.22.17)]. In early immunoblot studies, sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) recognized unidentified 60-, 45-, and 75-kDa proteins in HeLa cell extracts.

No abstract