Tc-99m sestamibi scintigraphy in multiple myeloma

Tc-99m sestamibi imaging was performed in two patients with multiple myeloma. Focal areas of increased uptake in one patient and diffuse skeletal uptake in the second patient were found. Tc-99m sestamibi appears to identify bone marrow and osteolytic involvement in multiple myeloma.     

Diagnosis of diabetic gastroparesis on Tc-99m hepatobiliary scintigraphy

Diabetic gastroparesis is a common problem in diabetics, especially insulin-dependent diabetics. The diagnosis usually is suggested on plain radiographs and confirmed on either upper gastrointestinal barium series or radionuclide gastric emptying studies. The clinical diagnosis is not always easy and some patients may present atypically with right upper quadrant pain simulating acute cholecystitis. In these patients, hepatobiliary scintigraphy may be the initial investigation performed and may first demonstrate unsuspected gastroparesis. Therefore, it is useful for the nuclear medicine physician to be aware of this entity to ensure early diagnosis and prompt treatment. The authors report one such case of diabetic gastroparesis that was diagnosed initially on a Tc-99m hepatobiliary scan.     

Pedunculated hepatic hemangioma identified on Tc-99m DTPA-HSA scintigraphy

Traumatic transection of the base of the tongue can be a life-threatening injury because of blood loss and airway obstruction. Airway control, hemostasis, and meticulous anatomic repair are necessary to prevent speech and airway dysfunction. Laryngeal injuries, when present, require these same principles.     

Progression of neonatal herpes simplex meningoencephalitis demonstrated by sequential Tc-99m DTPA brain imaging

A technique is described that allows a simple and safe temporary occlusion of the coronary artery in beating heart procedures using monofilament stay sutures underlaid with small pericardial pads. Postoperative serial levels of Troponin I remained low (<4 ng/L) and control angiography revealed no stenosis in the distal coronary artery.     

Double-phase Tc-99m sestamibi scintigraphy in the preoperative location of lesions causing hyperparathyroidism

The effects of mycotoxin citrinin on Ca2+ efflux and membrane permeabilization were studied in isolated rat liver mitochondria. The efflux rate observed when in presence of ruthenium red was higher when citrinin was added. Swelling experiments demonstrated Ca(2+)-dependent membrane permeabilization by citrinin. Catalase, butylhydroxitoluene (BHT), and dithiothreitol (DTT) did not protect swelling caused by Ca2+ plus citrinin. The protection conferred by ATP-Mg2+ and cyclosporin A in the latter experiments are strong indications of pore formation. These results suggest that citrinin can induce permeability transition by a mechanism that does not involve oxidative damage.     

Discordant splenic uptake of Tc-99m colloid and Tc-99m denatured RBC in candidiasis-endocrinopathy syndrome

The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of melanoma in the Paris region in 1994 and analyse the main clinical and histological characteristics of these lesions. It took the form of a prospective inquiry, mailed to public and private pathology laboratories, to count as accurately as possible the number of new cases diagnosed by pathologists in the region during the 1994 calendar year. In all, 1089 newly diagnosed Clark level I to V melanomas (excluding precancerous melanosis of Dubreuilh) were studied. Parameters recorded included age, sex, Clark level and Breslow's thickness. The incidence per 100,000 inhabitants was 9.93 for melanoma and 8.62 for invasive melanoma. The female to male ratio was 1.6. Clark level I or thin (< 0.75 mm) melanomas represented 64.8% of the lesions. At the time of diagnosis, the females were significantly younger than the males (P = 0.004). Breslow's thickness increased with age and was significantly lower in women (P = 0.00005), especially those between 40 and 49 years old. The incidence of melanoma in the Paris region in 1994 was close to that observed during the preceding 5 years in England, Scotland and the French department of Haut-Rhin. It was 2.32 times higher for males and 1.69 times higher for females than the rates estimated for France for the period 1978-1982.     

Detection of abscesses with Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte scintigraphy depends on their stage and location

Two abscesses were shown on CT in a 72-year-old man: one in the left hip and one in the left pelvic region that resulted from a motor vehicle collision that occurred 8 months earlier. Bone scintigraphy showed increased uptake in the left hip area. On Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte imaging, the hip area appeared to be photopenic, and the abscess of the left pelvis was not identified. Incidental uptake in the left lung base appeared to be an active acute inflammatory process as evidenced by an infiltrating lesion in the left lower lung on a chest radiograph. Because leukocyte scintigraphy cannot detect the presence of a chronic inflammatory process in the absence of acute inflammatory cells, the patient's abscesses in the left hip and the left pelvis did not localize Tc-99m HMPAO-labeled neutrophils. The cold lesion in the left hip area was most likely caused by the lesion in the reticuloendothelial system (bone marrow); the unidentifiable pelvic lesion was related to the area(s) outside the reticuloendothelial system. In interpreting a labeled leukocyte image, clinicians should be alert to the stage (chronic or acute) and location (regardless of whether in the reticuloendothelial system) of infectious lesion(s). In this patient, a wide spectrum of manifestations was evident on leukocyte scintigraphy.     

Increased bone marrow uptake on Tc-99m DMSA scintigraphy in a patient with renal osteodystrophy

Anxiogenic action of m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), a 5-HT1C receptor agonist, was studied in naive rats and in ethanol-tolerant rats following withdrawal from chronic ethanol administration. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a sensitization to mCPP develops during withdrawal from chronic ethanol. Male Long-Evans hooded rats were fed a liquid diet containing 4.5% ethanol or dextrin (as control) for four days. Twelve hours (acute withdrawal) or 4 days (protracted withdrawal) after the last dose of ethanol, rats were injected with saline or mCPP (0.08-5.0 mg/kg) and were tested in the elevated plus-maze 15 min postinjection. A reduction in percent open-arm activity, indicative of anxiogenic behavior, was observed in ethanol-treated rats injected with saline. Administration of mCPP further reduced the percent open-arm entries and time in ethanol-withdrawn rats. An eightfold reduction in maximum effective dose of mCPP was observed during acute ethanol withdrawal as compared to that in naive rats. During protracted ethanol withdrawal the maximum effective dose of mCPP was reduced by 75%. A shift of the mCPP dose-response curve to the left following withdrawal from chronic ethanol may indicate that 5-HT1C receptor sites are more sensitive to the activation by an agonist. This effect may be exploited in developing specific 5-HT1C receptor antagonists for the treatment of ethanol withdrawal symptoms.     

Tc-99m DTPA renal scintigraphy using deconvolution analysis with six functional images of the mean time to evaluate acute pyelonephritis

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the cyclic changes and regional localization of immunoreactive c-fos and prolactin (PRL) in the human endometrium, using immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactive PRL was found in the epithelium of 9.1% of the proliferative specimens and in 55.6% of the secretory specimens (p < 0.05, Fisher's exact test). In the endometrial stroma, immunoreactive PRL was present in 9.1 and 66.7% of the proliferative and secretory samples, respectively (p < 0.01). Immunoreactive c-fos predominated in the stroma and was identified in 54.5% of the specimens in the proliferative phase, but in only 7.1% of those in the secretory phase (p < 0.05). The progesterone/estradiol ratio was lower in the patients expressing immunoreactive c-fos (median = 13.1 ng/ml) compared to those who did not (median = 84.5 ng/ml, p < 0.05). We conclude that immunoreactive c-fos is found mostly in stromal cells during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle, and is sharply reduced during the secretory phase, when the endometrium is under progesterone stimulation - attested by PRL production.