Effect of blood glucose level on standardized uptake value (SUV) in F-18- FDG PET-scan : a systematic review and meta-analysis of 20,807 individual SUV measurements

Objectives To evaluate the effect of pre-scan blood glucose levels (BGL) on standardized uptake value (SUV) in F-18-FDG-PET scan. Methods A literature review was performed in the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane library databases. Multivariate regression analysis was performed on individual datum to investigate the correlation of BGL with SUVmax and SUVmean adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus diagnosis, F-18-FDG injected dose, and time interval. The ANOVA test was done to evaluate differences in SUVmax or SUVmean among five different BGL groups (200 mg/dl). Results Individual data for a total of 20,807 SUVmax and SUVmean measurements from 29 studies with 8380 patients was included in the analysis. Increased BGL is significantly correlated with decreased SUVmax and SUVmean in brain (p <0.001, p <0.001,) and muscle (p <0.001, p <0.001) and increased SUVmax and SUVmean in liver (p = 0.001, p = 0004) and blood pool (p=0.008, p200 mg/dl had significantly lower SUVmax. Conclusion If BGL is lower than 200mg/dl no interventions are needed for lowering BGL, unless the liver is the organ of interest. Future studies are needed to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET scan in diagnosis of malignant lesions in hyperglycemia.Peer reviewe

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Automated Whole Slide Imaging for Label-Free Histology using Photon Absorption Remote Sensing Microscopy

The field of histology relies heavily on antiquated tissue processing and staining techniques that limit the efficiency of pathologic diagnoses of cancer and other diseases. Current staining and advanced labeling methods are often destructive and mutually incompatible, requiring new tissue sections for each stain. This prolongs the diagnostic process and depletes valuable biopsy samples. In this study, we present an alternative label-free histology platform using the first transmission-mode Photon Absorption Remote Sensing microscope. Optimized for automated whole slide scanning of unstained tissue samples, the system provides slide images at magnifications up to 40x that are fully compatible with existing digital pathology tools. The scans capture high quality and high-resolution images with subcellular diagnostic detail. After imaging, samples remain suitable for histochemical, immunohistochemical, and other staining techniques. Scattering and absorption (radiative and non-radiative) contrasts are shown in whole slide images of malignant human breast and skin tissues samples. Clinically relevant features are highlighted, and close correspondence and analogous contrast is demonstrated with one-to-one gold standard H&E stained images. Our previously reported pix2pix virtual staining model is applied to an entire whole slide image, showcasing the potential of this approach in whole slide label-free H&E emulation. This work is a critical advance for integrating label-free optical methods into standard histopathology workflows, both enhancing diagnostic efficiency, and broadening the number of stains that can be applied while preserving valuable tissue samples.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Multi-channel feature extraction for virtual histological staining of photon absorption remote sensing images

Abstract Accurate and fast histological staining is crucial in histopathology, impacting diagnostic precision and reliability. Traditional staining methods are time-consuming and subjective, causing delays in diagnosis. Digital pathology plays a vital role in advancing and optimizing histology processes to improve efficiency and reduce turnaround times. This study introduces a novel deep learning-based framework for virtual histological staining using photon absorption remote sensing (PARS) images. By extracting features from PARS time-resolved signals using a variant of the K-means method, valuable multi-modal information is captured. The proposed multi-channel cycleGAN model expands on the traditional cycleGAN framework, allowing the inclusion of additional features. Experimental results reveal that specific combinations of features outperform the conventional channels by improving the labeling of tissue structures prior to model training. Applied to human skin and mouse brain tissue, the results underscore the significance of choosing the optimal combination of features, as it reveals a substantial visual and quantitative concurrence between the virtually stained and the gold standard chemically stained hematoxylin and eosin images, surpassing the performance of other feature combinations. Accurate virtual staining is valuable for reliable diagnostic information, aiding pathologists in disease classification, grading, and treatment planning. This study aims to advance label-free histological imaging and opens doors for intraoperative microscopy applications

Global metabolic profiles in a non-human primate model of maternal immune activation: implications for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Epidemiological evidence implicates severe maternal infections as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ASD and schizophrenia. Accordingly, animal models mimicking infection during pregnancy, including the maternal immune activation (MIA) model, result in offspring with neurobiological, behavioral, and metabolic phenotypes relevant to human neurodevelopmental disorders. Most of these studies have been performed in rodents. We sought to better understand the molecular signatures characterizing the MIA model in an organism more closely related to humans, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), by evaluating changes in global metabolic profiles in MIA-exposed offspring. Herein, we present the global metabolome in six peripheral tissues (plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, three regions of intestinal mucosa scrapings, and feces) from 13 MIA and 10 control offspring that were confirmed to display atypical neurodevelopment, elevated immune profiles, and neuropathology. Differences in lipid, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolism discriminated these MIA and control samples, with correlations of specific metabolites to behavior scores as well as to cytokine levels in plasma, intestinal, and brain tissues. We also observed modest changes in fecal and intestinal microbial profiles, and identify differential metabolomic profiles within males and females. These findings support a connection between maternal immune activation and the metabolism, microbiota, and behavioral traits of offspring, and may further the translational applications of the MIA model and the advancement of biomarkers for neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD or schizophrenia

Dynamic gut microbiome changes following regional intestinal lymphatic obstruction in primates

Feist-Weiler Cancer Center (FWCC) Eastern-Star Award (JSA); Department of Defense PR100451 ‘Lymphatic Vascular-Based Therapy for IBD’ (JSA); National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30GM110703

Socioeconomic Inequality across Religious Groups: Self-Selection or Religion-Induced Human Capital Accumulation? The Case of Egypt

National audienc

A prebiotic diet modulates microglial states and motor deficits in α-synuclein overexpressing mice.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder characterized by neuroinflammation, α-synuclein pathology, and neurodegeneration. Most cases of PD are non-hereditary, suggesting a strong role for environmental factors, and it has been speculated that disease may originate in peripheral tissues such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract before affecting the brain. The gut microbiome is altered in PD and may impact motor and GI symptoms as indicated by animal studies, although mechanisms of gut-brain interactions remain incompletely defined. Intestinal bacteria ferment dietary fibers into short-chain fatty acids, with fecal levels of these molecules differing between PD and healthy controls and in mouse models. Among other effects, dietary microbial metabolites can modulate activation of microglia, brain-resident immune cells implicated in PD. We therefore investigated whether a fiber-rich diet influences microglial function in α-synuclein overexpressing (ASO) mice, a preclinical model with PD-like symptoms and pathology. Feeding a prebiotic high-fiber diet attenuates motor deficits and reduces α-synuclein aggregation in the substantia nigra of mice. Concomitantly, the gut microbiome of ASO mice adopts a profile correlated with health upon prebiotic treatment, which also reduces microglial activation. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of microglia from the substantia nigra and striatum uncovers increased pro-inflammatory signaling and reduced homeostatic responses in ASO mice compared to wild-type counterparts on standard diets. However, prebiotic feeding reverses pathogenic microglial states in ASO mice and promotes expansion of protective disease-associated macrophage (DAM) subsets of microglia. Notably, depletion of microglia using a CSF1R inhibitor eliminates the beneficial effects of prebiotics by restoring motor deficits to ASO mice despite feeding a prebiotic diet. These studies uncover a novel microglia-dependent interaction between diet and motor symptoms in mice, findings that may have implications for neuroinflammation and PD