Amygdalar activity measured using FDG-PET/CT at head and neck cancer staging independently predicts survival.

IMPORTANCE: The mechanisms underlying the association between chronic stress and higher mortality among individuals with cancer remain incompletely understood. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that among individuals with active head and neck cancer, that higher stress-associated neural activity (ie. metabolic amygdalar activity [AmygA]) at cancer staging associates with survival. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Academic Medical Center (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). PARTICIPANTS: 240 patients with head and neck cancer (HNCA) who underwent 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging as part of initial cancer staging. MEASUREMENTS: 18F-FDG uptake in the amygdala was determined by placing circular regions of interest in the right and left amygdalae and measuring the mean tracer accumulation (i.e., standardized uptake value [SUV]) in each region of interest. Amygdalar uptake was corrected for background cerebral activity (mean temporal lobe SUV). RESULTS: Among individuals with HNCA (age 59±13 years; 30% female), 67 died over a median follow-up period of 3 years (IQR: 1.7-5.1). AmygA associated with heightened bone marrow activity, leukocytosis, and C-reactive protein (P<0.05 each). In adjusted and unadjusted analyses, AmygA associated with subsequent mortality (HR [95% CI]: 1.35, [1.07-1.70], P = 0.009); the association persisted in stratified subset analyses restricted to patients with advanced cancer stage (P<0.001). Individuals within the highest tertile of AmygA experienced a 2-fold higher mortality rate compared to others (P = 0.01). The median progression-free survival was 25 months in patients with higher AmygA (upper tertile) as compared with 36.5 months in other individuals (HR for progression or death [95%CI], 1.83 [1.24-2.68], P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: AmygA, quantified on routine 18F-FDG-PET/CT images obtained at cancer staging, independently and robustly predicts mortality and cancer progression among patients with HNCA. Future studies should test whether strategies that attenuate AmygA (or its downstream biological consequences) may improve cancer survival.

Eustachian valve infective endocarditis.

A 40-year-old woman presented with postoperative fever. Echocardiography revealed a large pedunculated cauliflower right atrial mass of heterogeneous echogenicity attached to the eustachian valve measuring about 2×3 cm. She underwent surgical excision, gross and microscopical examination were consistent with eustachian valve infective endocarditis.

Amygdalar activity predicts future incident diabetes independently of adiposity.

While it is established that psychosocial stress increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM), two key knowledge gaps remain: 1) the neurobiological mechanisms that are involved in mediating that risk, and 2) the role, if any, that adiposity plays in that mechanism. We tested the hypotheses that: 1) metabolic activity in the amygdala (AmygA), a key center involved in the neurobiological response to stress, associates with subsequent DM risk, and 2) this association is independent of adiposity. AmygA and adipose tissue volumes were measured, and serial blood assessments for DM were obtained in 232 subjects who underwent combined 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) imaging. Higher baseline AmygA predicted subsequent, new-onset DM, independently of adiposity and other DM risk factors. Furthermore, higher adiposity only increased DM risk in the presence of higher AmygA. In a separate cross-sectional cohort, higher AmygA associated with higher insulin resistance. Accordingly, the current study shows, for the first time, that activity in a stress-responsive neural region predicts the onset of DM. Further, we observed that this neurobiological activity acts independently of, but also synergistically with adiposity to increase DM risk. These findings suggest novel therapeutic targets to help manage and possibly prevent DM.

Amygdalar Metabolic Activity Independently Associates With Progression of Visceral Adiposity.

CONTEXT: Epidemiologic data link psychological stress to adiposity. The underlying mechanisms remain uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To test whether (i) higher activity of the amygdala, a neural center involved in the response to stress, associates with greater visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volumes and (ii) this association is mediated by increased bone marrow activity. SETTING: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. PATIENTS: Two hundred forty-six patients without active oncologic, cardiovascular, or inflammatory disease who underwent clinical 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging were studied. VAT imaging was repeated ∼1 year later in 68 subjects. DESIGN: Metabolic activity of the amygdala (AmygA), hematopoietic tissue activity, and adiposity volumes were measured with validated methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The relationship between AmygA and baseline and follow-up VAT. RESULTS: AmygA associated with baseline body mass index (standardized ß = 0.15; P = 0.01), VAT (0.19; P = 0.002), and VAT/subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio (0.20; P = 0.002), all remaining significant after adjustment for age and sex. AmygA also associated with bone marrow activity (0.15; P = 0.01), which in turn associated with VAT (0.34; P < 0.001). Furthermore, path analysis showed that 48% of the relationship between AmygA and baseline VAT was mediated by increased bone marrow activity (P = 0.007). Moreover, AmygA associated with achieved VAT after 1 year (P = 0.02) after adjusting for age, sex, and baseline VAT. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a neurobiological pathway involving the amygdala and bone marrow linking psychosocial stress to adiposity in humans. Future studies should test whether targeting this mechanism attenuates adiposity and its complications.

Carney Complex: A Rare Case of Multicentric Cardiac Myxoma Associated with Endocrinopathy.

Carney complex is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by multiple tumors, including cardiac and extracardiac myxomas, skin lesions, and various endocrine disorders. We are reporting a 21-year-old female patient with past surgical history significant for excision of a cutaneous myxoma who presented with multicentric cardiac myxomas involving the four cardiac chambers. She also presented with endocrinal disorders in the form of an enlarged right lobe of the thyroid, hyperthyroid state, and an incidentally noted adrenal cyst; hence, she was diagnosed with carney complex syndrome.

A left ventricular true aneurysm.

True ventricular aneurysm is a scarred wall that most commonly results after an unrevascularized ST elevation myocardial infarction. Patients usually present with heart failure, angina, ventricular arrhythmia, systemic embolization, or ventricular rupture. Diagnosis can be achieved via echocardiography, left ventricle angiogram, cardiac computed tomography, or cardiac magnetic resonance.

Molecular imaging of atherosclerosis with integrated PET imaging.

Atherosclerotic diseases account for nearly half of all deaths and are leading causes of adult disability. Our understanding of how atherosclerosis leads to cardiovascular disease events has evolved: from a concept of progressive luminal narrowing, to that of sudden rupture and thrombosis of biologically active atheroma. In concert with this conceptual shift, contemporary imaging techniques now allow imaging of biological processes that associate with plaque instability: active calcification and plaque inflammation. This review focuses on opportunities provided by positron emission tomography/computed tomography, to identify these high-risk biological features of atherosclerosis.

Long-term prognostic implication of coronary plaque characterization as detected by 64-multidetector computed tomography in Egyptian population.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the role of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in prognosis of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) by applying plaque characterization and whether obstructive versus non-obstructive plaque volume is a predictor of future cardiac events. BACKGROUND: Vulnerable plaques may occur across the full spectrum of severity of stenosis, underlining that also non-obstructive lesions may contribute to coronary events. METHODS: We included 1000 consecutive patients with intermediate pretest likelihood of CAD who were evaluated by 64-MDCT. Coronary artery calcium scoring, assessment of degree of coronary stenosis and quantitative assessment of plaque composition and volume were performed. The end point was cardiac death, acute coronary syndrome, or symptom-driven revascularization. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 16 months, 190 patients had suffered cardiac events. In a multivariate regression analysis for events, the total amount of non-calcified plaque (NCP) in non-obstructive lesions was independently associated with an increased hazard ratio for non-fatal MI (1.01-1.9/100-mm3 plaque volume increase, p = 0.039), total amount of obstructive plaque was independently associated with symptoms driven revascularization (p = 0.04) and coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) was independently associated with cardiac deaths (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: MDCT is a non-invasive imaging modality with a prognostic utility in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease by applying plaque characterization and it could identify vulnerable plaques by measuring the total amount of NCP in non-obstructive lesions which could be useful for detecting patients at risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and guide further preventive therapeutic strategies. CACS was shown to be an independent predictor of mortality, while total amount of obstructive volume was shown to be an independent predictor of symptoms driven revascularization.