Comparison and reproducibility of standard and high temporal resolution myocardial tissue tagging in patients with severe aortic stenosis

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare and assess the reproducibility of left ventricular (LV) circumferential peak systolic strain (PeakEcc) and strain rate (SR) measurements using standard and high temporal resolution myocardial tissue tagging in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Background Myocardial tissue tagging with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can be used to quantify strain and SR, however, there are little data on the reproducibility. Diastolic SR may be of particular interest as it may be the most sensitive marker of diastolic dysfunction often occurring early in the course of disease. Methods Eight patients with isolated severe AS without obstructive coronary artery disease were prospectively enrolled. They underwent CMR in a 1.5T scanner (Siemens Avanto) on two separate occasions, median interval 12 days. Complementary tagged (CSPAMM) images were acquired with both a single breath-hold (SBH: temporal resolution 42ms), and a multiple brief expiration breath-hold (MBH: high temporal resolution 17ms) sequence. Mid-wall PeakEcc was measured in the LV at mid-ventricular level with HARP Version 2.7 (Diagnosoft, USA). SR was calculated from the strain data; SR=Ecc2-Ecc1/Time2-Time1. PeakEcc , peak systolic and diastolic SR were read from curves of strain and SR against time. The MBH SR curves were filtered with a moving average (MA) to reduce noise sensitivity, results from a sample width of three and five were examined. Differences between SBH and MBH were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test as not all measures were normally distributed. Reproducibility assessments were carried out on all techniques. Results PeakEcc was significantly higher with MBH vs. SBH, but reproducibility was slightly worse. Results are summarised in Table 1. Systolic SR was approximately equal with all techniques although MBH using MA of five led to a borderline significant reduction. Diastolic SR was higher when measured with MBH although only significant using MA of three. Systolic and diastolic SR measures were more reproducible with MBH compared with SBH, except for the diastolic SR using MA of three, which was substantially worse. Strain and SR curves for the same patient are shown in Figure 1

High Rates of Return to Sports Activities and Work After Osteotomies Around the Knee: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

© 2017, The Author(s). Background: Knee osteotomies are proven treatment options, especially in younger patients with unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis, for certain cases of chronic knee instability, or as concomitant treatment for meniscal repair or transplantation surgery. Presumably, these patients wish to stay active. Data on whether these patients return to sport (RTS) activities and return to work (RTW) are scarce. Objectives: Our aim was to systematically review (1) the extent to which patients can RTS and RTW after knee osteotomy and (2) the time to RTS and RTW. Methods: We systematically searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases. Two authors screened and extracted data, including patient demographics, surgical technique, pre- and postoperative sports and work activities, and confounding factors. Two authors assessed methodological quality. Data on pre- and postoperative participation in sports and work were pooled. Results: We included 26 studies, involving 1321 patients (69% male). Mean age varied between 27 and 62 years, and mean follow-up was 4.8 years. The overall risk of bias was low in seven studies, moderate in ten studies, and high in nine studies. RTS was reported in 18 studies and mean RTS was 85%. Reported RTS in studies with a low risk of bias was 82%. No studies reported time to RTS. RTW was reported in 14 studies; mean RTW was 85%. Reported RTW in studies with a low risk of bias was 80%. Time to RTW varied from 10 to 22 weeks. Lastly, only 15 studies adjusted for confounders. Conclusion: Eight out of ten patients returned to sport and work after knee osteotomy. No data were available on time to RTS. A trend toward performing lower-impact sports was observed. Time to RTW varied from 10 to 22 weeks, and almost all patients returned to the same or a higher workload

Impact of alcohol septal ablation on left anterior descending coronary artery blood flow in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of alcohol septal ablation (ASA) on coronary blood flow in symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) using cardiac MR (CMR) coronary flow measurements. Background: CMR flow mapping enables quantification of coronary blood flow in a noninvasive way. Both left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient reduction and myocardial scarring after ASA are expected to influence left anterior descending (LAD) coronary blood flow. Methods: Cine, contrast-enhanced (CE) imaging and breath-hold CMR phase contrast velocity mapping were performed at baseline and 1 and 6 months after ASA in seven patients. Changes of coronary blood flow were related to left ventricular (LV) mass reduction, enzyme release, volume of ethanol administered, LVOT gradient reduction, and LV rate pressure product (LVRPP). Results: A significant mass reduction was observed bothin the target septal myocardium and in the total myocardium (both P < 0.01). Mean myoca

Glucocorticoids Decrease Hippocampal and Prefrontal Activation during Declarative Memory Retrieval in Young Men

Glucocorticoids (GCs, cortisol in human) are associated with impairments in declarative memory retrieval. Brain regions hypothesized to mediate these effects are the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Our aim was to use fMRI in localizing the effects of GCs during declarative memory retrieval. Therefore, we tested memory retrieval in 21 young healthy males in a randomized placebo-controlled crossover design. Participants encoded word lists containing neutral and emotional words 1 h prior to ingestion of 20 mg hydrocortisone. Memory retrieval was tested using an old/new recognition paradigm in a rapid event-related design. It was found that hydrocortisone decreased brain activity in both the hippocampus and PFC during successful retrieval of neutral words. These observations are consistent with previous animal and human studies suggesting that glucocorticoids modulate both hippocampal and prefrontal brain regions that are crucially involved in memory processing

A first step towards a framework for interventions for individual working practice to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a scoping review

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a key topic in occupational health. In the primary prevention of these disorders, interventions to minimize exposure to work-related physical risk factors are widely advocated. Besides interventions aimed at the work organisation and the workplace, interventions are also aimed at the behaviour of workers, the so-called individual working practice (IWP). At the moment, no conceptual framework for interventions for IWP exists. This study is a first step towards such a framework. Methods: A scoping review was carried out starting with a systematic search in Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Ovid APA PsycInfo, and Web of Science. Intervention studies aimed at reducing exposure to physical ergonomic risk factors involving the worker were included. The content of these interventions for IWP was extracted and coded in order to arrive at distinguishing and overarching categories of these interventions for IWP. Results: More than 12.000 papers were found and 110 intervention studies were included, describing 810 topics for IWP. Eventually eight overarching categories of interventions for IWP were distinguished: (1) Workplace adjustment, (2) Variation, (3) Exercising, (4) Use of aids, (5) Professional skills, (6) Professional manners, (7) Task content & task organisation and (8) Motoric skills. Conclusion: Eight categories of interventions for IWP are described in the literature. These categories are a starting point for developing and evaluating effective interventions performed by workers to prevent WMSDs. In order to reach consensus on these categories, an international expert consultation is a necessary next step

Regional assessment of left ventricular torsion by CMR tagging

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