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Background: Ischemic stroke is the second most common cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Acupuncture is frequently advocated as an alternative treatment during stroke rehabilitation. Aim: The purpose of this study was to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) following acupuncture at LI-10 Shousanli in healthy volunteers using 99mTc-ethyl cysteine dimer (99mTc-ECD) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Methods: Fourteen healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. A baseline brain SPECT was taken, and 3 months later, acupuncture was performed at LI-10 for 20 min, followed by a second SPECT. Statistical parametric mapping was used to analyze the changes in rCBF before and after acupuncture through a paired t-test. Results: Perfusion increased in the caudate, thalamus, hippocampus, and precuneus (P < 0.05) regions after acupuncture at LI-10 compared to baseline and decreased rCBF was observed in the frontal cortex, occipital cortex, and parietal regions compared to baseline. Differences between baseline and postacupuncture (PA) perfusion levels showed were highest in the hippocampus region, followed by the striatum, thalamus, and cerebellum regions. Conclusion: 99mTC-ECD SPECT revealed significant increases in rCBF for specific region PA at LI-10. These results provide reference control group data for future longitudinal studies of stroke patients receiving acupuncture therapy as an alternative treatment to improve motor function and aid intensive rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objectives: Repeated joint bleeding in haemophilia patients may lead to haemophilic arthropathy with marked inflammation and synovitis. This study investigated the potential of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography‐computed tomography (18F‐FDG PET/CT) as a novel diagnostic method for haemophilic arthropathy. Materials and methods: We recruited 20 adult haemophilia patients who reported history of hemarthroses in the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, or ankle joints. All joints were assessed by power Doppler ultrasonography and radiography, and graded by hyperaemia score and Pettersson score, respectively. Joint pain was evaluated by visual analogue score (VAS). Range of motion (ROM), Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS) and annual joint bleeding rate (AJBR) were recorded. Finally, all participants had whole‐body 18F‐FDG PET/CT, and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the joints being studied was measured. Results: Thirteen patients had severe haemophilia, and seven had moderate haemophilia. The mean age was 36 years. PET SUVmax showed significant correlations with VAS, ROM, Pettersson score, hyperaemia score, HJHS score and AJBR in all large joints except hip. Joints with pain, hyperaemia and radiographic changes were found to have higher SUVmax than those without these features. Using Youden's index, the optimal cut‐off value for early radiographical arthropathy was found to be between 1.9 and 2.0. Conclusion: Our study indicates that 18F‐FDG PET/CT imaging correlated well with various conventional diagnostic techniques. It also demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for early radiographic arthropathy. 18F‐FDG PET/CT imaging may quantitatively evaluate disease activity of most large joints in a single examination and help detect early haemophilic arthropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Objectives: Repeated joint bleeding in haemophilia patients may lead to haemophilic arthropathy with marked inflammation and synovitis. This study investigated the potential of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) as a novel diagnostic method for haemophilic arthropathy., Materials and Methods: We recruited 20 adult haemophilia patients who reported history of hemarthroses in the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, or ankle joints. All joints were assessed by power Doppler ultrasonography and radiography, and graded by hyperaemia score and Pettersson score, respectively. Joint pain was evaluated by visual analogue score (VAS). Range of motion (ROM), Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS) and annual joint bleeding rate (AJBR) were recorded. Finally, all participants had whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/CT, and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the joints being studied was measured., Results: Thirteen patients had severe haemophilia, and seven had moderate haemophilia. The mean age was 36 years. PET SUVmax showed significant correlations with VAS, ROM, Pettersson score, hyperaemia score, HJHS score and AJBR in all large joints except hip. Joints with pain, hyperaemia and radiographic changes were found to have higher SUVmax than those without these features. Using Youden's index, the optimal cut-off value for early radiographical arthropathy was found to be between 1.9 and 2.0., Conclusion: Our study indicates that 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging correlated well with various conventional diagnostic techniques. It also demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for early radiographic arthropathy. 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging may quantitatively evaluate disease activity of most large joints in a single examination and help detect early haemophilic arthropathy., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion image (MPI) is commonly used to detect coronary artery disease in patients with chest pain. Although a normal thallium-201 MPI result is generally considered to be a good prognosis and further coronary angiogram is not recommended, there are still a few patients who suffer from unexpected acute coronary events. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical prognosis in patients with normal thallium-201 MPI., Methods: From January 2006 to August 2012, a total 22,003 patients undergoing thallium-201 MPI in one tertiary center were screened. Of these, 8092 patients had normal results and were investigated retrospectively. During follow-up, 54 patients underwent coronary angiogram because of refractory typical angina pectoris or unexpected acute coronary events. These 54 patients were divided into 2 groups: group I consisted of 26 (48.1%) patients with angiography-proven significant coronary artery stenosis, and group II consisted of 28 (51.9%) patients without significant stenosis., Results: Patients in group I had a higher prevalence of prior coronary stenting and electrocardiographic features of ST depression compared with patients in group II. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that both prior coronary stenting and ST depression were risk predictors of unexpected acute coronary events in the patients with normal thallium-201 MPI [odds ratio (OR), 5.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-34.06, p = 0.05 and OR, 7.10; 95% CI: 1.28-39.51, p = 0.03,respectively]., Conclusions: Although there is a low incidence of unexpected acute coronary events in patients with chest pain and normal thallium-201 MPI, physicians should be aware of the potentials risk in certain patients in this specific population.