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Background and Aim Data on non-surgical treatment of groove pancreatitis (GP) and the risk of cancer are lacking. We aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of cancer in patients in whom the diagnosis GP was considered, and to evaluate symptom improvement after treatment. Study Patients referred with possible GP (2001-2014) were retrospectively included. An experienced radiologist reassessed imaging. GP patients received questionnaires evaluating their symptoms. Results From the 38 possible GP patients, 10 had cancer (26%) and 28 GP (74%). Compared with cancer patients, GP patients more frequently had cysts (2/10 vs. 18/28, P = 0.03), less often jaundice (6/10 vs 3/27, P < 0.01), an abrupt caliber change of the CBD (5/10 vs. 2/28, P < 0.01) or suspicious cytology (5/9 vs 2/20, P = 0.02). Of the 28 GP patients, 14 patients were treated conservatively of whom 12 reported symptom improvement after a median follow-up of 45 months (range 7-127 months). All 6 patients treated endoscopically and 7/8 patients treated surgically reported symptom improvement. Surgery, performed because of treatment failure (3/8) or inability to exclude malignancy (5/8), caused mortality in 1/8 patients. Conclusions Suspicion of pancreatic cancer should be high in patients presenting with possible GP. Conservative, endoscopic and surgical treatment can all lead to symptom improvement, suggesting a 'step-up approach' to GP once cancer is excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To evaluate the potential of two bone substitute materials and the influence of different healing periods in guided bone regeneration therapy of osseous defects around implants. Materials and Methods Twenty-four edentulous patients received implants in the region of the lost lower incisors. Around two standardized osseous defects were created, treated either with a 50:50 mixture of Pep Gen P-15® and OsteoGraf®/N-700 (test group) or with BioOss® (control group), and covered with titanium membranes. After healing periods of 2, 4, 6, or 9 months, the implants were removed together with the surrounding bone and subsequently prepared for histological evaluations. Results Defect depths in both groups showed a clinical reduction after intervention. The histologically measured distance from the implant shoulder to the first point of bone-implant contact ( BIC) after treatment did not differ between the two groups. The healing time influenced the level of the first point of BIC, with a longer healing period producing a more coronal first point of BIC. A greater percentage BIC and a higher fraction of mineralized bone were found in the pristine bone area compared with the augmented defect area. Conclusion It can be concluded that in the treatment of osseous defects around oral implants, both materials were equally effective bone substitute materials when used in combination with guided bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Our template-based quantitative perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) method (T-QPS) performs semiquantitative analysis for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) without the use of normal databases. However, in its current form, T-QPS requires extensive calculations, which limits its clinical application. In the interest of clinical feasibility, the authors examine the trade-off between accuracy and processing time as the method is simplified. Methods: The T-QPS method uses the reconstructed SPECT image of the patient to create a 3D digital template of his/her healthy heart. This template is then projected, reconstructed, and sampled into the bulls-eye map domain. A ratio of the patient and template images produces a final corrected image in which a threshold is applied to identify perfusion defects. In principle, the template should be constructed with the heart and all extracardiac activity, and the projection step should include primary and scatter components; however, this leads to lengthy calculations. In an attempt to shorten the processing time, the authors analyzed the performance of four template (T) generation methods: TP-HRT, TPS-HRT, TP-HRTBKG, and TPS-HRTBKG, where P and S represent primary and scattered photons included in the projection step, respectively; and HRT and HRTBKG represent template constructed with the heart only and the heart with background activity, respectively. Forty-eight thorax phantoms and 21 randomly selected patient studies were analyzed using each approach. All studies used GE's Infinia Hawkeye SPECT/CT system and followed a standard cardiac acquisition protocol. Results: Approximate processing times for the TP-HRT, TPS-HRT, TP-HRTBKG, and TPS-HRTBKG methods were less than a minute, 2-3 h, less than a minute and 3-4 h, respectively. In both the simulation and patient studies, a significant reduction in the quality of perfusion defect definition was exhibited by the TP-HRT method relative to the other three methods. The optimal method with respect to perfusion defect definition and processing time was TP-HRTBKG with a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in spatially defining the perfusion defects (simulation study) of 80%, 84%, and 83%, respectively. Conclusions: The T-QPS method using TP-HRTBKG leads to accurate and fast semiquantitative analysis of SPECT MPI, without the use of normal databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]