[Magnetic resonance imaging versus DR for whole spine imaging in patients with degenerative spinal disease].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of whole spine images obtained by DR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and analyze the whole spinal imaging sagittal parameters for standing DR and supine MRI. METHODS: Sixty-one patients aged 49.9∓17.6 years with degenerative spinal disease underwent both standing DR and supine MRI of the whole spine from November, 2010 to March, 2016. The image quality was retrospectively reviewed, and the cervical lordosis (CL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), sacral slope (SS), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were measured on the whole spinal lateral DR and middle sagittal MR images. RESULTS: Both the DR and MR whole spine images had a high quality (100%). The CL, TK, LL, SS, and SVA measured were 28.37mnplus;10.91 °, 29.98mnplus;8.96 °, 45.61mnplus;12.46 °, 34.38mnplus;9.05 °, and 17.20mnplus;26.39 mm on DR images and were 24.34mnplus;9.01 °, 21.22mnplus;8.13 °, 41.45mnplus;12.17 °, 37.45mnplus;8.19 °, and 36.51mnplus;12.44mm on MR images, respectively, showing significant differences in the measurements between the two modalities (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.001, and 0.007, respectively). The correlation coefficient between DR and MR images for CL, TK, LL, SS, and SVA were 0.69, 0.68, 0.72, 0.51, and 0.27 (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.034, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both standing DR and supine MR whole spine imaging can provide high-quality images. The CL, TK, LL, SS, and SVA measured on supine MR whole spine images are correlated with those on standing DR images but differ obviously. Supine MR imaging can not substitute standing DR examinations, and comprehensive assessment of degenerative spinal disease needs the combination of the two imaging techniques.

Role of Diffusion-weighted and Contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Differentiating Activity of Ankylosing Spondylitis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that combining apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value with the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) index value might provide a reliable evaluation of the activity of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and that contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unnecessary. However, the results were based on confirming only a small random sample. This study aimed to assess the role of CE-MRI in differentiating the disease activity of AS by comparing ADC value with a large sample. METHODS: A total of 115 patients with AS were enrolled in accordance with Bath AS Disease Activity Index and laboratory indices, and 115 patients were divided into two groups, including active group (n = 69) and inactive group (n = 46). SPARCC, ΔSI, and ADC values were obtained from the short tau inversion recovery (STIR), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and CE-MRI, respectively. One-way analysis of variance and receiver operating characteristic analysis were performed for all parameters. RESULTS: The optimal cutoff values (with sensitivity, specificity, respective area under the curve, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio) for the differentiation between active and inactive groups are as follows: SPARCC = 6 (72.06%, 82.61%, 0.836, 4.14, 0.34); ΔSI (%) = 153 (80.6%, 84.78%, 0.819, 5.3, 0.23); ADC value = 1.15 × 10-3 mm2/s (72.73%, 81.82%, 0.786, 4, 0.33). No statistical differences were found among the predictive values of SPARCC, ΔSI, and ADC. Multivariate analysis showed no significant difference between the combination of SPARCC and ADC values with and without ΔSI. CONCLUSIONS: Using large sample, we concluded that the combination of STIR and DWI would play significant roles in assessing the disease activity, and CE-MRI sequence is not routinely used in imaging of AS to avoid renal fibrosis and aggravation of kidney disease.

Detection of Active Sacroiliitis with Ankylosing Spondylitis through Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm feasibility and assess intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) to differentiate active sacroiliitis and ankylosing spondylitis.. METHODS: Forty-one patients were divided into two groups, an active group (n = 20) and a chronic group (n = 21), according to the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and laboratory parameters. In addition, 21 healthy volunteers were chosen as the control group. Tissue diffusivity (Dslow), perfusion fraction (f), and pseudo-diffusion coefficient (Dfast) values were obtained for all three groups. One-way analysis of variance and receiver operating characteristic analysis were performed for all parameters. RESULTS: There was good interobserver agreement on the measurements between the two observers. The optimal cut-off values (with respective AUC, sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio) between active and chronic groups were Dslow = 0.53 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s (0.976, 90%, 95.2%, 18.9, 0.10) and f = 0.09 (0.545, 20%, 95.5%, 4.2, 0.84), and between chronic and control groups were Dslow = 0.22 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s (0.517, 9.52%, 100%, no number, 0.9) and f = 0.09 (0.935, 95.24%, 80.95%, 5, 0.059). CONCLUSION: Dslow and f of IVIM diffusion-weighted (DW)-MRI in AS show a significant difference in the values of diffusion of water molecules and fractional perfusion-related volume among the three groups. KEY POINTS: • D slow can be used to differentiate the activity of AS. • With perfusion fraction, the sensitivity of differentiating the AS activity is improved. • IVIM DWI plays an important role in detecting the activity in patients with AS.

[Prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis B in Hua County, Henan Province].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the epidemiological characteristics and associated risk factors of hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) prevalence in rural areas of Hua County, Henan Province, and to provide scientific evidence for Hepatitis B prevention and control in local areas. METHODS: On the basis of an ongoing esophageal cancer cohort study in rural Anyang, a total of 5 104 subjects aged 25-65 years were clustered and selected from 5 targeted villages for this study in rural areas of Hua County, Henan Province. HBsAg was detected in their blood samples and a questionnaire was completed by all the subjects in a manner of one-on-one interview. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows version 13.0. RESULTS: Of the 5 104 studied subjects (overall participation rate: 92.05%), 5.17% were positive for HBsAg. The detection rate was significantly higher in males than in females (6.54% vs. 3.87%, P<0.001) and the highest detection rates were observed in the 25-29 and 55-59 years groups in both males and females. Multiple Logistic analyses showed unmarried status (OR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.00-3.25) and high frequency of sexual intercourse (Ptrend=0.049) were associated with higher the risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HBsAg in rural Hua County, Henan Province, was slightly lower than the national average of the same time period. More attention should be attached to high risk groups of HBV infection in this population, i.e. males aged 25-29 years and 55-59 years and sexually active population. Immunization and health education projects against hepatitis B should be carried out in this population to further reduce the overall prevalence of hepatitis B.

Amplitude low-frequency oscillation abnormalities in the heroin users: a resting state fMRI study.

Functional neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormal functional organization of the heroin users' brain, including reward circuit, cognitive control circuit, memory circuit, motivation and salience evaluation circuits and so on. In the current study, we aimed to explore the functional changes in the regional brain of heroin users using the amplitude of low-frequency oscillations in the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals. With fMRI data acquired during resting state from 24 chronic heroin users (all subjects were being treated with methadone) and 24 non-addicted controls, we investigated addiction related altered in the amplitude low-frequency fluctuate (ALFF) between the two groups. Compared with controls, we found that heroin addicts had decreased ALFF in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), bilateral medial orbit frontal cortex (mOFC), left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex and left cuneus as well as increased ALFF in the bilateral angular gyrus, bilateral precuneus, bilateral supramarginal gyrus, left post cingulate cortex and left middle frontal gyrus. Moreover, we also found that the increased ALFF in the bilateral parietal lobe had a significantly positive correlation with the methadone does, thus we inferred that the reduced ALFF may due to heroin consumption, nevertheless, the increased ALFF in the bilateral parietal lobe may have resulted from the methadone treatment. This resting-state fMRI study suggests that the changed spontaneous neuronal activity of these regions may be implicated in the underlying pathophysiology of heroin addicts.