Interest of pet imaging in multiple myeloma

The interest of 18Fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the management of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) for the workup at diagnosis and for therapeutic evaluation has recently been demonstrated. FDG-PET is a powerful imaging tool for bone lesions detection at initial diagnosis with high sensitivity and specificity values. The independent pejorative prognostic value on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of baseline PET-derived parameters (presence of extra-medullary disease (EMD), number of focal bone lesions (FLs), and maximum standardized uptake values [SUVmax]) has been reported in several large independent prospective studies. During therapeutic evaluation, FDG-PET is considered as the reference imaging technique, because it can be performed much earlier than MRI which lacks specificity. Persistence of significant FDG uptake after treatment, notably before maintenance therapy, is an independent pejorative prognostic factor, especially for patients with a complete biological response. So FDG-PET and medullary flow cytometry are complementary tools for detection of minimal residual disease before maintenance therapy. However, the definition of PET metabolic complete response should be standardized. In patients with smoldering multiple myeloma, the presence of at least one hyper-metabolic lytic lesions on FDG-PET may be considered as a criterion for initiating therapy. FDG-PET is also indicated for initial staging of a solitary plasmacytoma so as to not disregard other bone or extra-medullary localizations. Development of nuclear medicine offer new perspectives for MM imaging. Recent PET tracers are willing to overcome limitations of FDG. (11)C-Methionine, which uptake reflects the increased protein synthesis of malignant cells seems to correlate well with bone marrow infiltration. Lipid tracers, such as Choline or acetate, and some peptide tracers, such as (68) Ga-Pentixafor, that targets CXCR4 (chemokine receptor-4, which is often expressed with high density by myeloma cells), are other promising PET ligands. 18F-fludarabine and immuno-PET targeting CD138 and CD38 also showed promising results in preclinical models

Clusters in Light Nuclei

A great deal of research work has been undertaken in the alpha-clustering study since the pioneering discovery, half a century ago, of 12C+12C molecular resonances. Our knowledge of the field of the physics of nuclear molecules has increased considerably and nuclear clustering remains one of the most fruitful domains of nuclear physics, facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. In this work, the occurence of "exotic" shapes in light N=Z alpha-like nuclei is investigated. Various approaches of superdeformed and hyperdeformed bands associated with quasimolecular resonant structures are presented. Results on clustering aspects are also discussed for light neutron-rich Oxygen isotopes.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Invited Talk presented by C. Beck at the Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics "Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape" XLV in the series of Zakopane Schools of Physics - International Symposium - Zakopane, Poland, August 30 - September 5, 2010.To be publihed in Acta Physica Polonica B42 no 3, March 201

Maintenance treatment of adolescent bipolar disorder: open study of the effectiveness and tolerability of quetiapine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness and tolerability of quetiapine as a maintenance treatment preventing against relapse or recurrence of acute mood episodes in adolescent patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consenting patients meeting DSM-IV lifetime criteria for a bipolar disorder and clinically appropriate for maintenance treatment were enrolled in a 48-week open prospective study. After being acutely stabilized (CGI-S ≤ 3 for 4 consecutive weeks), patients were started or continued on quetiapine and other medications were weaned off over an 8-week period. Quetiapine monotherapy was continued for 40-weeks and other mood stabilizers or antidepressants were added if clinically indicated. A neurocognitive test battery assessing the most reliable findings in adult patients was administered at fixed time points throughout the study to patients and matched controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 21 enrolled patients, 18 completed the 48-week study. Thirteen patients were able to be maintained without relapse or recurrence in good quality remission on quetiapine monotherapy, while 5 patients required additional medication to treat impairing residual depressive and/or anxiety symptoms. According to symptom ratings and global functioning scores, the quality of remission for all patients was very good.</p> <p>Neurocognitive test performance over treatment was equivalent to that of a matched control group of never ill adolescents. Quetiapine was generally well tolerated with no serious adverse effects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that a proportion of adolescent patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder can be successfully maintained on quetiapine monotherapy. The good quality of clinical remission and preserved neurocognitive functioning underscores the importance of early diagnosis and effective stabilization.</p> <p>Clinical Trials Registry</p> <p>D1441L00024</p

Functional imaging for therapeutic assessment and minimal residual disease detection in multiple myeloma

Serum markers and bone marrow examination are commonly used for monitoring therapy response in multiple myeloma (MM), but this fails to identify minimal residual disease (MRD), which frequently persists after therapy even in complete response patients, and extramedullary disease escape. Positron emission tomography with computed tomography using 18Fdeoxyglucose (FDG-PET/CT) is the reference imaging technique for therapeutic assessment and MRD detection in MM. To date, all large prospective cohort studies of transplant-eligible newly diagnosed MM patients have shown a strong and independent pejorative prognostic impact of not obtaining complete metabolic response by FDG-PET/CT after therapy, especially before maintenance. The FDG-PET/CT and MRD (evaluated by flow cytometry or next-generation sequencing at 10\u20135 and 10\u20136 levels, respectively) results are complementary for MRD detection outside and inside the bone marrow. For patients with at least a complete response, to reach double negativity (FDG-PET/CT and MRD) is a predictive surrogate for patient outcome. Homogenization of FDG-PET/CT interpretation after therapy, especially clarification of complete metabolic response definition, is currently underway. FDG-PET/CT does not allow MRD to be evaluated when it is negative at initial workup of symptomatic MM. New PET tracers such as CXCR4 ligands have shown high diagnostic value and could replace FDG in this setting. New sensitive functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques such as diffusion-weighted MRI appear to be complementary to FDG-PET/CT for imaging MRD detection. The goal of this review is to examine the feasibility of functional imaging, especially FDG-PET/CT, for therapeutic assessment and MRD detection in MM