Left Ventricular Metastasis from a Primary Pancreatobiliary Tumor

Metastatic disease to the heart is not uncommon. We describe a case of a man in his 60s with an unusual metastasis to the heart and detail its intracardiac location by means of cardiac computerized tomography (CCT) and transthoracic echocardiography. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pancreatobiliary tumor metastasizing exclusively to the left ventricle (LV) of the heart

Smaller organ mass with greater age, except for heart

Autopsy/cadaver data indicate that many organs and tissues are smaller in the elderly compared with young adults; however, in vivo data are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine whether the mass of specific high-metabolic-rate organs is different with increasing age, using MRI. Seventy-five healthy women (41 African-Americans and 34 Caucasians, age range 19–88 yr) and 36 men (8 African-Americans and 28 Caucasians, age range 19–84 yr) were studied. MRI-derived in vivo measures of brain, heart, kidneys, liver, and spleen were acquired. Left ventricular mass (LVM) was measured by either echocardiography or cardiac gated MRI. Total body fat mass and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured with a whole body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanner. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the association between the organ mass and age after adjustment for weight and height (or DXA measures of FFM), race, sex, and interactions among these variable. No statistically significant interaction was found among age, sex, and race in any regression model. Significant negative relationships between organ mass and age were found for brain (P < 0.0001), kidneys (P = 0.01), liver (P = 0.001), and spleen (P < 0.0001). A positive relationship between LVM and age was found after adjustment for FFM (P = 0.037). These findings demonstrate that age has a significant effect on brain, kidneys, liver, spleen, and heart mass. The age effect was independent of race and sex

Small organs with a high metabolic rate explain lower resting energy expenditure in African American than in white adults

Background: African Americans have a lower resting energy expenditure (REE) relative to fat-free mass (FFM) than do whites. Whether the composition of FFM at the organ-tissue level differs between African Americans and whites and, if so, whether that difference could account for differences by race in REE are unknown.Objective: The objectives were to quantify FFM in vivo in women and men at the organ-tissue level and to ascertain whether the mass of specific high-metabolic-rate organs and tissues differs between African Americans and whites and, if so, whether that difference can account for differences in REE.Design: The study was a cross-sectional evaluation of 64 women (n = 34 African Americans, 30 whites) and 35 men (n = 8 African Americans, 27 whites). Magnetic resonance imaging measures of liver, kidney, heart, spleen, brain, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measures of fat and FFM were acquired. REE was measured by using indirect calorimetry.Results: The mass of selected high-metabolic-rate organs (sum of liver, heart, spleen, kidneys, and brain) after adjustment for fat, FFM, sex, and age was significantly (P &lt; 0.001) smaller in African Americans than in whites (3.1 and 3.4 kg, respectively; ± SEE difference: 0.30 ± 0.06 kg). In a multiple regression analysis with fat, FFM, sex, age, and race as predictors of REE, the addition of the total mass rendered race nonsignificant.Conclusions: Racial differences in REE were reduced by &gt;50% and were no longer significant when the mass of specific high-metabolic-rate organs was considered. Differences in FFM composition may be responsible for the reported REE differences.<br/