BACKGROUND: Annual PSA tests have led to a significant increase in the number of prostate cancer (PCa) cases diagnosed. This increased incidence has led to overtreatment of many patients, as current pathology often cannot distinguish latent from aggressive PCa. Studies have shown that the depletion of zinc in prostate cells correlated with cell-line growth rates, and may therefore relate to the progression of PCa.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men worldwide, largely as a result of the increased use of the annual serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test for detection. PSA screening has saved lives, but it has also resulted in the overtreatment of many patients with PCa because of a limited ability to accurately localize and characterize PCa lesions through imaging. High-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) (1)H MRS has proven to be a strong potential clinical tool for PCa diagnosis and prognosis.
We conducted a 6-week open-label trial of riluzole (50 mg twice a day) in eight subjects with Huntington's disease. Subjects were evaluated before riluzole treatment, on treatment, and off treatment with the chorea, dystonia, and total functional capacity (TFC) scores from the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale and magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of occipital cortex and basal ganglia lactate levels. Adverse events and safety blood and urine tests were assessed throughout the study. All subjects completed the study and riluzole was well tolerated.
Serial proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) images of distal upper extremities were obtained in four healthy volunteers and four patients with giant cell tumor of the distal radius. The steady-state-free-precession (SSFP) data collection technique and an 8-cm bore superconducting magnet (1.44 tesla) were used. All images demonstrated high spatial resolution and excellent soft-tissue contrast. In patients with giant cell tumor, the NMR images revealed bone marrow replacement by tumor, cortical bone thinning, and cortical bone destruction.
The next few years will undoubtedly see a refinement of proton imaging technology and a broader data base will indicate to what extent proton relaxation parameters are able to detect and characterize disease. In addition, it is likely that imaging of other nuclei (e.g. 31P, 23Na, 19F) will become a reality, although it must be stated that due to their inherently lower sensitivity to NMR detection and/or lower physiological concentration, clinical images of nuclei other than 1H will undoubtedly have a low spatial resolution and may require relatively long imaging times [41].
The authors briefly review the principles of NMR imaging and illustrate and discuss results from their initial applications of inversion-recovery and spin-echo NMR imaging pulse sequences in humans with diverse pathophysiologies of stroke.
Saturation recovery nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) images and metrizamide computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained in an adult patient with a clinical history suggestive of syringomyelia. Both NMR and CT studies showed low lying cerebellar tonsils. The CT study demonstrated central cavitation of the spinal cord from the midthoracic to midcervical levels but could not exclude an intramedullary soft tissue mass at the cervico-medullary junction.
