There are a number of evidences suggesting that lung perfusion distribution is under active regulation and determined by several factors in addition to gravity. In this work, we hypothesised that autoinhalation of nitric oxide (NO), produced in the human nasal airways, may be one important factor regulating human lung perfusion distribution in the upright position. In 15 healthy volunteers, we ...

UNLABELLED Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), a catheter-based liver-directed modality for treating primary and metastatic liver cancer, requires appropriate planning to maximize its therapeutic response and minimize its side effects. (99m)Tc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) scanning should precede the therapy to detect any extrahepatic shunting to the lung or gastrointestinal tract. Our...

PURPOSE To compare standard coil embolization versus the use of an antireflux microcatheter (ARM) in patients undergoing planning angiography before selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective, single-center trial was performed in which 30 patients were randomly assigned to undergo SIRT with coil embolization or the use of an ARM. The coil group underwent ...

Radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) with yttrium-90 (90Y) resin microspheres is an effective locoregional treatment for unresectable primary and metastatic malignancies of the liver [1]. SIRT is a straightforward method of delivering microspheres containing 90Y (a high-energy β-emitting radioisotope) to the microvasculature of malignancies whilst sparing the normal ...

BACKGROUND Because of the spectrum of intrapulmonary vascular dilation that characterizes hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), PaO(2) while breathing 100% oxygen varies. Abnormal extrapulmonary uptake of (99m)Tc macroaggregated albumin (MAA) after lung perfusion is common. GOAL To describe relationships between (1) severity of liver disease measured by the Child-Pugh (CP) classification; (2) PaO(2...

BACKGROUND Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined by liver dysfunction, intrapulmonary vascular dilatations, and impaired oxygenation. The gold standard for detection of intrapulmonary vascular dilatations in HPS is contrast echocardiography. However, two small studies have suggested that patients with HPS have larger segmental pulmonary arterial diameters than both normal subjects and normo...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Efficacy of radioembolization is derived from radioinduced damage, whereas tumour dosimetry is not considered as yet in prospective clinical trials. OBJECTIVES This study evaluates the impact of tumour dose (TD), based on 99m Tc macroaggregated albumin (MAA) quantification, on response and overall survival (OS). MATERIALS AND METHODS We consecutively included 85 patients w...

Regional infusion chemotherapy for the treatment of primary or secondary hepatic cancer should allow delivery of a higher drug concentration to the tumor with decreased systemic exposure when compared with systemic therapy. Fifteen rabbits, each implanted with two hepatic Vx-2 tumors, were treated with infusion of Adriamycin (3 mg/kg and 7.5 muCi of [14C]Adriamycin) through the hepatic artery (...

BACKGROUND Due to the different properties of the contrast agents, the lung perfusion maps as measured by 99mTc-labeled macroaggregated albumin perfusion scintigraphy (PS) are not uncommonly discrepant from those measured by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) using indicator-dilution analysis in complex pulmonary circulation. Since PS offers the pre-capillary perfusion of the first-pass tr...

Accepted 25 November 1997 A 19-year-old woman was admitted to hospital for the evaluation of central cyanosis. She was complaining of fatigue, progressive dyspnoea, worsening in the upright position, and marked cyanosis of the lips and nail beds. She described a mild bleeding diathesis with epistaxis and prolonged menstrual bleeding during the last 6 months. She had no history of hepatitis, tra...