Inspiratory and Expiratory Pulmonary CT: Change of Bronchial and Accompanying Pulmonary Arterial Diameter During Respiration in Healthy Adult Men

OBJECT: To evaluate changes in the diameter of bronchi and pulmonary arteries during respiration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ratio of the diameter of matched inner bronchi and accompanying pulmonary arteries was calculated from full inspiration and expiration HRCT of healthy men. RESULTS: In 106 pairs of matched bronchi and pulmonary arteries, the brohchial-arterial ratios were 0.61+/-0.18(upper lung), 0.72+/-0.21(lower lung), and0.65+/-0.20(total) at full inspiration and 0.51+/-0.32(upper lung), 0.52+/-0.15(lower lung), and 0.51+/-0.26(total) atfull expiration HRCT, denoting a statistically significant increase in bronchial diameter of the entire lung atfull inspiration. The inner diameter of the bronchus was larger than the diameter of the accompanying pulmonary artery by 0.1% at full expiration and 8.5% at full inspiration. CONCLUSION: The result of this study would be helpful in understanding the physiology of the lung during respiration.

Lipid Profiles in Hypertension and Cerebrovascular Diseases

Serum lipids and lipoproteins were determined in 70 patients with hypertension, 40 patients with cerebral infarctions, and 41 patients with cerebral hemorrhage. The results were compared with findings in 64 healthy controls. The results are as follows; 1) Total cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio were significantly higher in patients with hypertension or cerebral infarction than in control group, but HDL-cholesterol showed no significant difference. 2) In Patients with cerebral hemorrhage, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were higher than in normal controls. Total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio was within the limits of normal. It is possible that the susceptibility to cerebral infarction is the result of high total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio rather than low HDL cholesterol. But our study suggests that hyperlipoproteinemia plays a minor role in the development of cerebral hemorrhage.