1. |
- Andersen, Christen Lykkegaard, et al.
(author)
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Circulating YKL-40 in patients with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera treated with the novel histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat
- 2014
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In: Leukemia Research. - : Elsevier. - 0145-2126 .- 1873-5835. ; 38:7, s. 816-821
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- YKL-40 regulates vascular endothelial growth factors and induces tumor proliferation. We investigated YKL-40 before and after treatment with vorinostat in 31 polycythemia vera (PV) and 16 essential thrombocythemia (ET) patients. Baseline PV patient levels were 2 times higher than in healthy controls (P<0.0001) and 1.7 times higher than in ET (P = 0.02). A significant correlation between YKL-40 at baseline and neutrophils, CRP, LDH, JAK2V617F and platelets in PV patients was observed, as well as a significantly greater reduction of YKL-40 levels in PV patients responding to therapy. YKL-40 might be a novel marker of disease burden and progression in myeloproliferative neoplasms.
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2. |
- Covaciu, Lucian, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Brain temperature in healthy volunteers subjected to intranasal cooling
- 2011
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In: Intensive Care Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0342-4642 .- 1432-1238. ; 37:8, s. 1277-1284
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Purpose: Intranasal cooling can be used to initiate therapeutic hypothermia. However, direct measurement of brain temperature is difficult and the intra-cerebral distribution of temperature changes with cooling is unknown. The purpose of this study was to measure the brain temperature of human volunteers subjected to intranasal cooling using non-invasive magnetic resonance (MR) methods.Methods: Intranasal balloons catheters circulated with saline at 20 °C were applied for 60 min in 10 healthy, unsedated volunteers. Brain temperature changes were measured and mapped using MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and phase-mapping techniques. Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored throughout the experiment. Rectal temperature was measured before and after the cooling. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test and nasal inspection were done before and after the cooling. Questionnaires about the subjects personal experience were filled after the experiment.Results: Brain temperature decrease measured by MRSI was -1.7 ± 0.8°C and by phase-mapping -1.8 ± 0.9°C at the end of cooling. Spatial distribution of temperature changes was relatively uniform. Rectal temperature decreased by -0.5 ± 0.3°C. The physiological parameters were stable and no shivering was reported. The volunteers remained alert during cooling and no cognitive dysfunctions were apparent at MMSE test. Postcooling nasal examination detected increased nasal secretion in 9 of the 10 volunteers. Volunteer’s acceptance of the method was good. Conclusion: Both MR techniques revealed brain temperature reductions after 60 min intranasal cooling with balloons circulated with saline at 20 °C in healthy and unsedated volunteers.
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3. |
- Covaciu, Lucian, et al.
(author)
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Brain temperature in volunteers subjected to intranasal cooling
- 2011
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In: Intensive Care Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0342-4642 .- 1432-1238. ; 37:8, s. 1277-1284
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intranasal cooling can be used to initiate therapeutic hypothermia. However, direct measurement of brain temperature is difficult and the intra-cerebral distribution of temperature changes with cooling is unknown. The purpose of this study was to measure the brain temperature of human volunteers subjected to intranasal cooling using non-invasive magnetic resonance (MR) methods. Intranasal balloons catheters circulated with saline at 20A degrees C were applied for 60 min in ten awake volunteers. No sedation was used. Brain temperature changes were measured and mapped using MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and phase-mapping techniques. Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored throughout the experiment. Rectal temperature was measured before and after the cooling. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) test and nasal inspection were done before and after the cooling. Questionnaires about the subjects' personal experience were completed after the experiment. Brain temperature decrease measured by MRSI was -1.7 +/- A 0.8A degrees C and by phase-mapping -1.8 +/- A 0.9A degrees C (n = 9) at the end of cooling. Spatial distribution of temperature changes was relatively uniform. Rectal temperature decreased by -0.5 +/- A 0.3A degrees C (n = 5). The physiological parameters were stable and no shivering was reported. The volunteers remained alert during cooling and no cognitive dysfunctions were apparent in the MMSE test. Postcooling nasal examination detected increased nasal secretion in nine of the ten volunteers. Volunteers' acceptance of the method was good. Both MR techniques revealed brain temperature reductions after 60 min of intranasal cooling with balloons circulated with saline at 20A degrees C in awake, unsedated volunteers.
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4. |
- Covaciu, Lucian, et al.
(author)
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Human brain MR spectroscopy thermometry using metabolite aqueous-solution calibrations
- 2010
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In: Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. - : Wiley. - 1053-1807 .- 1522-2586. ; 31:4, s. 807-814
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: To estimate absolute brain temperature using proton MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and mean brain-body temperature difference of healthy human volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chemical shift difference between temperature-dependent water spectral line position and temperature-stable metabolite spectral reference was used for the estimations of absolute brain temperature. Temperature calibrations constants were obtained from the spectra of the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA line at approximately 2.0 ppm), glycero-phosphocholine (GPC line at approximately 3.2 ppm), and creatine (Cr line at approximately 3.0 ppm) aqueous solutions with pH values within physiologically pertinent ranges. Single-voxel PRESS sequence (TR/TE 2000/80 ms) was used for this purpose. Brain temperature was determined by averaging the temperatures computed from water-Cho, water-Cr, and water-NAA chemical shift differences. RESULTS: The mean brain temperature of 18 healthy volunteers was 38.1 +/- 0.4 degrees C and mean brain-body (rectal) temperature difference was 1.3 +/- 0.4 degrees C. CONCLUSION: Improved accuracy of the temperature constants and averaging the temperatures computed from water-Cho, water-Cr, and water-NAA chemical shift differences increased the reliability of the brain temperature estimations.
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5. |
- Covaciu, Lucian, 1964-
(author)
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Intranasal Cooling for Cerebral Hypothermia Treatment
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The controlled lowering of core body temperature to 32°C to 34°C is defined as therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Therapeutic hypothermia has been shown to improve neurological outcome and survival in unconscious patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest. Brain temperature is important for cerebral protection therefore methods for primarily cooling the brain have also been explored. This thesis focuses on the likelihood that intranasal cooling can induce, maintain and control cerebral hypothermia. The method uses bilaterally introduced intranasal balloons circulated with cold saline. Selective brain cooling induced with this method was effectively accomplished in pigs with normal circulation while no major disturbances in systemic circulation or physiological variables were recorded. The temperature gradients between brain and body could be maintained for at least six hours. Intranasal balloon catheters were used for therapeutic hypothermia initiation and maintenance during and after successful resuscitation in pigs. Temperature reduction was also obtained by combined intranasal cooling and intravenous ice-cold fluids with possible additional benefits in terms of physiologic stability after cardiac arrest. Rewarming was possible via the intranasal balloons. In these studies brain temperature was recorded invasively by temperature probes inserted in the brain. The fast changes in pig’s brain temperature could also be tracked by a non-invasive method. High-spatial resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) without internal reference showed a good association with direct invasive temperature monitoring. In addition the mapping of temperature changes during brain cooling was also possible. In awake and unsedated volunteers subjected to intranasal cooling brain temperature changes were followed by two MR techniques. Brain cooling was shown by the previously calibrated high-spatial resolution MRSI and by the phase-mapping method. Intranasal cooling reduced body temperature slightly. The volunteers remained alert during cooling, the physiological parameters stable, and no shivering was reported.
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6. |
- Eckerbom, Per, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Intravoxel Incoherent Motion MR Imaging of the Kidney : Pilot Study
- 2013
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In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. - New York, NY : Springer New York. - 0065-2598 .- 2214-8019. ; 765, s. 55-58
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- MR examinations (Achieva 3 T, Philips, Best, The Netherlands) were performed at five different occasions in a healthy volunteer (male 60 years) and in one renal cancer patient (male 78 years) with normal renal function (creatinine 88 μmol/L). Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) coefficients D + D* were measured using respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted spin-echo echo-planar imaging. Perfusion data of the patient were acquired using a saturation-recovery gradient-echo sequence and with the bolus of Gd-BOPTA (Multihance). D + D* were computed by monoexponential fitting of MR signal intensity attenuation versus b for b = 0, 50, 100, 150 s/mm2. Perfusion parameters were evaluated with “NordicICE” software. The map of D + D* was compared qualitatively with the perfusion map computed from the Gd scan. D + D* values of the cortex and medulla were in the range 2.3–2.7 and 1.1–1.6 × 10-3 mm2/s, respectively. In conclusion, in this pilot study a good qualitative relation between IVIM variables D + D* and renal perfusion has been found.
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7. |
- Ladjevardi, Sam, et al.
(author)
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A Comparison of Different Imaging Techniques for Localisation of Cancers in the Prostate
- 2014
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In: Open Prostate Cancer Journal. - : Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.. - 1876-8229. ; 7, s. 1-6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The diagnostic accuracy of standard transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUL) biopsy is limited due to the finite number of cores that can be obtained. It has been shown that the technique is not sufficiently reliable in defining the location and extent of prostatic cancer. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET/CT) imaging techniques in pinpointing potential tumour lesions prior to prostate biopsy.Material and methodsThe study cohort consisted of 45 men with a raised prostate specific-antigen (PSA) level and/or suspected prostate cancer (PCa) at digital rectal examinations (DRE). Of the 45 patients, 23 had PCa detected with core needle biopsy (CNB). All had 11C acetate PET/CT imaging. Ten of those 23 patients underwent radical prostatectomy (RP), of those ten patients, eight patients had MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) with 3 T and six had diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient calculation (MRI DWI ADC). CNB, PET/CT, 2D MRSI and ADC map results were compared with postoperative specimen histopathology.Results The sensitivity of CNB, PET/CT, MRSI and DWI ADC were 0.53, 0.55, 0.79 and 0.95, whereas the specificity of was 0.88, 0.87, 0.46 and 0.73, respectively.Conclusion MRI improves the PCa detection by defining the areas of interest for targeted CNB of the prostate and can reduce the number of biopsies required
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8. |
- Ortiz-Nieto, Francisco, et al.
(author)
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Quantification of lipids in human lower limbs using yellow bone marrow as the internal reference : gender-related effects
- 2010
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In: Magnetic Resonance Imaging. - : Elsevier BV. - 0730-725X .- 1873-5894. ; 28:5, s. 676-682
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The main purpose of this study was to determine and compare extra- and intramyocellular (IMCL) lipids content in the calf and thigh muscles of normal male and female volunteers using high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). The study groups consisted of 10 females and 10 males. The subjects were healthy and normal-weight. Fat (yellow bone marrow) was used as the internal concentration reference. Total fat and IMCL content were computed for all muscles in the slice and for three muscle compartments in the thigh, whereas three muscles and three muscle compartments were evaluated in the calf. To avoid the confounding effects of physical activity and diet, measurements were performed in the same session. A common feature for both genders was that thigh muscles had approximately 2.5 times greater total fat content as compared to muscles of the calf. The mean IMCL level was, however, more than 3 times higher in the calf muscles compared with the thigh. No significant differences in lipid concentrations of correspondent regions of interest were found between genders. The high-spatial-resolution MRSI technique enables a more detailed study of muscle lipid distribution and can therefore improve understanding of muscle lipid metabolism in healthy volunteers and in studies of patients with metabolic disorders.
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10. |
- Sohlberg, Sara, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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In vivo(31)P-MR spectroscopy in normal pregnancy, early and late preeclampsia : A study of placental metabolism
- 2014
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In: Placenta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0143-4004 .- 1532-3102. ; 35:5, s. 318-323
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia affects about 3% of pregnancies and the placenta is believed to play a major role in its pathophysiology. Lately, the role of the placenta has been hypothesised to be more pronounced in preeclampsia of early (<34 weeks) rather than late (≥34 weeks) onset. (31)P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) enables non-invasive, in vivo studies of placental metabolism. Our aim was to study placental energy and membrane metabolism in women with normal pregnancies and those with early and late onset preeclampsia.METHODS: The study population included fourteen women with preeclampsia (five with early onset and nine with late onset preeclampsia) and sixteen women with normal pregnancy (seven with early and nine with late pregnancy). All women underwent a (31)P-MRS examination of the placenta.RESULTS: The phosphodiester (PDE) spectral intensity fraction of the total (31)P signal and the phosphodiester/phosphomonoester (PDE/PME) spectral intensity ratio was higher in early onset preeclampsia than in early normal pregnancy (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02). In normal pregnancy the PDE spectral intensity fraction and the PDE/PME spectral intensity ratio increased with increasing gestational age (p = 0.006 and p = 0.001).DISCUSSION: Since PDE and PME are related to cell membrane degradation and formation, respectively, our findings indicate increased cell degradation and maybe also decreased cell proliferation in early onset preeclampsia compared to early normal pregnancy, and with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings could be explained by increased apoptosis due to ischaemia in early onset preeclampsia and also increased apoptosis with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy.
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