7 Tesla quantitative hip MRI: a comparison between TESS and CPMG for T2 mapping

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of triple-echo steady state (TESS) T2 mapping as an alternative to conventional multi-echo-spin-echo (CPMG) T2 mapping for the quantitative assessment of hip joint cartilage at 7 T. Materials and methods A total of eight healthy volunteers and three patients were included. Reproducibility of both techniques was evaluated in five volunteers in five scans each. T2 relaxation times were measured by manually drawing regions of interest in multiple regions of the hip joint. Data from both methods were compared using Pearson correlation coefficient, intra-class correlation coefficient, and coefficient of repeatability. The overall image quality and presence of artifacts was assessed. Results Cartilage transplant and surrounding fluid were well depicted by both methods. Compared to CPMG, TESS provided systematically reduced T2 values (43.3 ± 7.3 vs. 19.2 ± 5.5 ms for acetabular cartilage, and 41.4 ± 5.6 vs. 21.7 ± 5.2 ms for femoral cartilage), in line with previously reported values. No correlation between both methods was found. TESS yielded a slightly better reproducibility than CPMG, while CPMG showed pronounced sensitivity to B1 inhomogeneities. Conclusion TESS seems to be an attractive alternative to CPMG for improvements in quantitative hip joint imaging at 7 T, allowing shortening of the total acquisition time paired with insensitivity to B1, while rendering comparable image quality with good repeatability

CHANGES OF CARDIOVASCULAR STABILITY IN CORONARY PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS OVER AN INDIVIDUAL YEAR

To determine the influence of an individual year cycle (IYC) lasting from one birthday to another, on the clinical, laboratory and physiological values, we have studies case histories of 330 men with acute coronary pathology and also examined 146 men with Coronary Heart Disease admitted for CABG. 35 almost healthy young men were also examined during a year in different seasons.We have found out that the number of patients developing MI in the XII month of the IYC, was reliably higher that the value for IV-VI months and almost twice as high as the number for the VI month. The severity of MI developing in the XII and I months of the IYC surpassed such in MI developing in other periods of the IYC. In the IV trimester of the IYC (X-XII months) the patients showed a relatively low number of T-cells, the highest cortisol concentration in the saliva, in the III and IV months – T-supressors; in the IV trimester coronary patients showed much less thyroxin, tri-iodothyronin and cortisol than in the I trimester. Blood values in the II trimester of the IYC were consistent with a better prognosis.Healthy young men showed stressed adaptation mechanisms in the IV trimester of the IYC: increased personal alertness (the index of regulatory systems stressing was calculated from a mathematical analysis of heart rate), higher incidence of hypertension, decreased ability to work and immunity. The values in the II trimester were more favorable.The data enable us to draw a conclusion about the universal nature of IYC changes of adaptive parameters of cardiovascular and endocrine systems, which is crucial for preventive cardiology