Search

Background: A preliminary assessment was conducted of the feasibility, efficacy, and morbidity of 125I seed implantation for recurrent head and neck carcinoma after surgery and external beam radiotherapy. Methods: Nineteen patients with recurrent head and neck carcinomas underwent 125I seed implantation under ultrasound or computed tomography guidance. The actuarial D90 of 125I seed implantation ranged from 90 to 160 Gy (median, 131 Gy). The follow-up period ranged from 3 to 44 months (median, 11 months). Results: The median local control was 24 months (95% confidence interval, 10.2 to 37.8). The one- year, two-year and three-year local controls were 73.3%, 27.5% and 27.5%, respectively, whereas the one-year, two-year and threeyear survival rates were 53.0%, 18.2% and 18.2%, respectively, and the median survival was 13 months (95% confidence interval, 6.6 to 19.4). A total of 26.3% of patients (5/19) died of local recurrence and 21.1% of patients (4/19) died of metastases. One suffered from a grade 1 skin reaction. Conclusions: 125I seed implantation is feasible and safe as a salvage treatment for patients with recurrent head and neck cancers. The high local control results and low morbidity merits further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to evaluate the microstructural integrity of white matter (WM) in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) among Han Chinese elderly using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique, and to investigate the relationship between WM abnormalities and cognitive dysfunction. Sixty-four subjects (23 mild probable AD, 20 amnestic MCI, and 21 age-matched normal controls) who did not have visible WM lesion burden were analyzed. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity were measured in normal-appearing WM (NAWM) using DTI with 64 encoding directions. The results were correlated with the scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (CASI). Statistical analysis showed the FA value in parietal WM was significantly lower in MCI compared to NC (P<0.001), and further decreased in AD compared to MCI (P=0.005). The lower FA and elevated mean diffusivity values were found in temporal WM, frontal WM, parahippocampal and posterior cingulate fibers of AD group compared to MCI and NC (all P<0.01). Canonical correlation analysis showed that the parietal FA values measured from all subjects were significantly correlated with the scores of CASI and MMSE (P<0.01). The results indicated that DTI can detect microstructural WM abnormalities in AD and amnestic MCI, and the measures were correlated with cognitive performance. In MCI, the abnormality was found to be limited within the parietal WM; and in AD a more widespread alteration was found in other brain regions as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]