BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the cerebral blood flow changes associated with the analgesic effect of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain. METHODS Seven patients presenting with a chronic pain syndrome and 5 healthy controls were included. All single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans were acquired with a uniform protocol. The patient group was i...

A review of staging investigations in the preoperative evaluation of mediastinal involvement in primary bronchial carcinoma is presented. The following conclusions are offered as guidelines for the use of mediastinal staging procedures in clinical practice: Surgical staging methods have the over-riding advantage of superior specificity over indirect imaging techniques. Where 67Ga-imaging or CT ...

BACKGROUND The exclusion of brain metastasis is important to determine the optimal treatment plan in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, a routine examination using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the brain remains controversial in preoperative patients with resectable disease. METHODS To assess the necessity of routine brain MRI for preoperative patients, a retros...

Primary hyperparathyroidism is an endocrine disorder recognized by hyperfunction of parathyroid gland, which can result in persistent bone absorption and brown tumor. Facial involvement of brown tumor is rare and usually involves the mandible. Giant cell tumor ( GCT) is an expansile osteolytic bone tumor which is very similar in clinical, radiological and histological features to brown tumor. H...

AIMS To determine when a bone scan investigation is appropriate in asymptomatic men diagnosed with prostate cancer. METHODS Between November 2005 and July 2006, 317 men with prostate cancer underwent a bone scan study; 176 men fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) cut-offs as well as univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses using digital rectal exam...

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a diagnosis of exclusion primarily in children and adolescents. As part of the essential criteria for the diagnosis of CRMO, multifocal lesions must be identified. We present the case of an 11-year-old boy with CRMO, whose diagnosis was facilitated by the use of whole body magnetic resonance imaging (WBMR), but not isotope bone scanning.

Melanoma of the head and neck and its treatment are complex issues. The behavior of head and neck melanoma is aggressive, and it has an overall poorer prognosis than that of other skin sites. Current understanding of the behavior of head and neck melanoma is reviewed and treatment strategies are presented. Controversies in treatment include the role of lymphoscintigraphy with sentinel node biop...

Hydatid disease is common in many parts of the world, and causes considerable health and economic loss. This disease may develop in almost any part of the body.Bone involvement is often asymptomatic, and its diagnosis is primarily based on radiographic findings. A whole body bone scan is able to show the extent and distribution of lesions.We describe an unusual case of multifocal skeletal hydat...