The malignant behaviors of solid tumors such as growth, infiltration and metastasis are mainly nourished by tumor neovascularization. Thus, anti-angiogenic therapy is key to controlling tumor progression. Bevacizumab, a humanized anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody, plus chemotherapy or biological therapy can prolong survival for cancer patients, but treatment-related mortality is a concern. To improve inhibitory effect and decrease side-effects on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we used Re-188, which is a β emitting radionuclide, directly labeled with bevacizumab for radioimmunotherapy in a human A549 tumor model. Cytotoxic assay data showed that, after 188ReO4− or 188Re-bevacizumab at different concentration for 4 and 24 h, a time- and radioactivity does-dependent reduction in cell viability occurred. Also, an apoptosis assay conformed great apoptosis in the 188Re-bevacizumab group compared with controls and other treatment groups. In vivo, tumor volumes in the 188Re-bevacizumab (11.1 MBq/mice) group were not reduced but growth was delayed compared with other groups. Thus, 188Re-bevacizumab enhanced the therapeutic effect of bevacizumab, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for NSCLC treatment.
Some studies suggested a possible role for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic pepetide (NT-proBNP) has been proposed to be a neurohumoral marker of cardiovascular risk. Few prior studies have evaluated such levels in HCV infection. Accordingly, the objectives of the present study were to investigate circulating levels of NT-proBNP and their relevance in patients with HCV infection.
Methods
We collected 131 HCV-infected patients and 131 age and gender matched healthy individuals from January 2006 to October 2007 in China. Demographics, clinical data were collected and circulating NT-proBNP was analysed, and 63 of patients were also consecutively evaluated with echocardiography.
Results
The level of serum NT-proBNP was higher in HCV-infected patients compared with controls (76.62 fmol/ml vs 51.83 fmol/ml, p<0.001, geometric means), even in HCV-infected patients without cardiovascular abnormalities (CVD history and /or abnormalities of ECG) NT-proBNP also increased (63.46 fmol/ml vs 48.14 fmol/ml, p=0.015, geometric means). A NT-proBNP level in the highest tertile was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular abnormalities, with OR of 17.91 (95% CI, 3.71 to 86.47). MVE/MVA, LVEF and FS were significantly lower among patients in the highest NT-proBNP tertile, whereas MVA was higher. In addition, compared with normal values of healthy Chinese population (39.35%±4.26%), the value of FS (36.76%±5.50%, p=0.015) was lower in patients whose serum NT-proBNP level was higher than median of controls (>56.17 fmol/ml, n=37).
Conclusions
HCV infected individuals had higher NT-proBNP levels than age matched controls, which show a possible cardiac functional evidence for a pathogenic link between HCV and CVD. The finding is consistent with an increased incidence of HCV or HCV antibody described in some CVD patients.
Abstract PURPOSE To explorer the optimal reconstruction parameters in oncologic 18 F-FDG total-body PET/CT studies with ultra-low activity injection. METHODS A total of 204 reconstructed PET images of 34 patients with a total of 58 lesions were analyzed by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians. Images were reconstructed with ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm (2 and 3 iterations) including time-of-flight (TOF) and point spread function (PSF) corrections and regularization ordered subset expectation maximization (ROSEM) (b-values of 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6). General image quality was assessed using the five-point method including overall image quality, image clarity, noise, and lesion conspicuity. Image noise, signal-to-noise ratio, lesion size, SUVmax, SUVpeak and T/N were quantitatively analyzed by the third reader who did not participate in subjective image assessment. RESULTS In objective image quality indicators, noise decreased and a continuous increase of SNR with incremental β-values (0.3,0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) compared with OSEM3. In subjective image quality, OSEM2, ROSEM0.5 and ROSEM0.6 scored higher (all P<0.001) in overall image quality, image contrast and noise. The scores of ROSEM reconstructions were all higher in lesion conspicuity compared with OSEM3 (all P<0.001). In lesion detectability, SUVmax, SUVpeak and T/N increase with β value of ROSEM increase. Compared with OSEM3, there was a negative correlation between lesion size and the percentage increase of SUVpeak in OSEM2 and ROSEM reconstructions (all P<0.01). CONCLUSION In clinical practice, we recommended OSEM reconstruction with 3 iterations with a relatively short reconstruction time and we recommend ROSEM algorithm with b of 0.5 when reconstruction time is not considered.
Chapter 49 discusses how ventricular arrhythmias resulting from acute myocardial ischaemia are a major cause of sudden – arrhythmic – cardiac death. Because the ischaemic tissue ceases to contract in the early phase of acute myocardial ischaemia or contractions become dyssynchronous, mechano-electrical coupling (MEC) potentially plays a role in arrhythmogenesis during ischaemia. For the generation of arrhythmias, the co-incidence of a preexisting condition (‘the substrate’) and a sudden ‘discharging’ event (‘the trigger’) is required. Both trigger and substrate may be modulated by, for example, the presence of drugs, mutations and the effects of the autonomic nervous system. Identification of both the trigger and the substrate is needed to define the arrhythmogenic mechanism of 1b-arrhythmias. MEC appears to play a role in the genesis of the trigger, and uncoupling in the formation of the substrate.
An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.
An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.
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