•Stiffness of skeletal muscle increases on contracted status.•Stiffness of skeletal muscle decreases with advancing age.•Stiffness increase rates remain similar between age subgroups.
To evaluate the ...effects of aging on skeletal muscle stiffness in relaxed and contracted status using shear wave elastography (SWE).
A total of 57 participants were enrolled to this institutional review board approved prospective study. Medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle (GM) of all participants were examined bilaterally by a single radiologist in prone position. Muscle thickness, stiffness values in both relaxed and contracted status were measured. Stiffness increase rate (SIR) was calculated for all muscles. The Spearman’s correlation test was used for correlation analyses. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare subgroups.
The mean age of the participants was 41.15 ± 16.19 (range, 18−74). The means of stiffness values of medial head of GM were 12.51 ± 2.56 kPa and 81.74 ± 15.77 kPa in relaxed and contracted status, respectively. The mean of SIR values was 5.62 ± 1.05 (range, 3.18–8.66). The stiffness values of relaxed and contracted medial head of GM had moderate to strong inverse correlations with age for both dominant and non-dominant extremities (r range: −0.703 to −0.590). Age subgroup analyses revealed significant differences in muscle thickness and stiffness values, whereas no significant difference was found in SIR values.
In conclusion, despite the decrease in stiffness of skeletal muscle with advancing age, SIR remained similar. Any improvement in stiffness values of skeletal muscle in relaxed status may play pivotal role in the management of sarcopenia.
We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of speckle tracking carotid strain (STCS) technique, which enables measurement of arterial stiffness and strain parameters, in the detection of early ...atherosclerotic findings in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
We prospectively enrolled 30 T1DM patients and 30 age- and sex-matched control participants with no history of cardiovascular disease. All study population underwent carotid ultrasonography. Radial and circumferential movement of the common carotid artery (CCA) in the transverse plane as the well as the radial movement of the CCA in the longitudinal plane were calculated automatically by using the STCS method. In addition, the strain (%), strain rate (per second), and peak circumferential and radial displacements (mm) were calculated. Arterial stiffness parameters, such as elastic modulus, distensibility, arterial compliance, and β-stiffness index, were calculated using the radial measurements. The mean value of the carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) was calculated semi-automatically for each CCA, in the longitudinal plane. We also analyzed the patients' overall body composition.
T1DM and control groups were compared in terms of strain and stiffness parameters and no statistically significant difference was found (p > 0.05). CIMT was higher in diabetic patients than in the control group (p = 0.039). In both groups, age was correlated with all arterial stiffness and strain parameters (p < 0.05). The duration of diabetes was also correlated with β-stiffness index, distensibility, and elastic modulus in the longitudinal plane (p < 0.05). In the diabetic group, abdominal fat ratio, whole body fat ratio, and fat mass were correlated with radial and circumferential displacement and strain parameters in transverse plane, and radial displacement in longitudinal plane (p < 0.05, for each). Diabetic patients were divided into subgroups according to the presence of nephropathy and dyslipidemia. Although no significant difference was found between the groups in terms of CIMT, patients with nephropathy had higher values for transverse and longitudinal elastic modulus, pulse-wave velocity, and longitudinal β-stiffness index, as well as lower values for longitudinal arterial compliance and distensibility, compared with patients without nephropathy (p < 0.05). Also, patients with dyslipidemia had higher longitudinal β-stiffness and elastic modulus values compared with patients without dyslipidemia (p < 0.05).
STCS ultrasonography is an effective, easy, and noninvasive method for evaluating the arterial elasticity. It may provide an early assessment of atherosclerosis in patients with T1DM, especially in the presence of nephropathy and dyslipidemia; thus, together with CIMT measurement, it may be used more frequently to detect subclinical damage and stratify atherosclerosis.
Purpose
The first aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the stiffness of the medial gastrocnemius muscle (GM) after a botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection in children with cerebral palsy (CP) ...using shear wave elastography (SWE). We also wanted to investigate the usability of SWE for evaluating spasticity in a clinical setting. The second aim of this study was to show how treatment of the gastrocnemius muscle spasticity caused a change in the elasticity of the anterior tibial (TA) muscle.
Methods
Twenty-four pediatric patients diagnosed with a spastic type of CP, who were scheduled to receive a BoNT-A injection in the gastrocnemius muscle, were included in the study. There was a total of 43 lower extremities to evaluate, and muscle stiffness was measured before the injection and a month post injection using SWE. The physiatrist evaluated muscle spasticity using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and the Modified Tardieu Scale at about the same time.
Results
SWE values of the GM (pre-BoNT-A: 45.9 ± 6.5 kPa, post-BoNT-A: 25.0 ± 5.7 kPa) decreased significantly post BoNT-A injection (
P
< 0.01). SWE measurements of the GM had positive correlations with MAS, V1X, V3X, and R2-R1 (
P
< 0.01); and negative correlations with R2 and R1 (
P
< 0.05). SWE values of the TA muscle (pre: 36.9 ± 7.9 kPa, post: 28.4 ± 5.2 kPa) decreased significantly (
P
< 0.01).
Conclusion
Quantitative measurement of muscle stiffness using SWE may provide important information for the evaluation of spasticity and treatment efficiency in pediatric CP patients.
ChatGPT from radiologists' perspective Şendur, Halit Nahit; Şendur, Aylin Billur; Cerit, Mahi Nur
British journal of radiology
96, Številka:
1148
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
ChatGPT is a newly developed technology created by the OpenAI company. It is an artificial-intelligence-based large language model (LLM) and able to generate human-like text. The potential roles of ...ChatGPT in clinical decision support and academic writing have led to intense criticism of this technology in the scientific community. Therefore, radiologists also need to be familiar with LLMs such as ChatGPT.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate sonographic parameters that could predict 1-month mortality in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Materials and Methods: This study was a post-hoc ...analysis of multi-organ sonographic examinations conducted between August 2020 and July 2021. Adult patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with AKI were recruited. Multi-organ (lung, cardiac, inferior vena cava, kidney, and bladder) sonographic examinations were performed by emergency physicians and evaluated by a radiologist, cardiologist, and another emergency physician, while being anonymized to the results. Results: There were 165 patients with AKI enrolled in the study, and 40 (24.2%) of them experienced 1-month mortality. Following univariate analyses of 23 sonographic parameters, multivariate regression analysis revealed that diffuse ascites (odds ratio OR, 3.67; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.27–10.61) and left ventricular basal diameter (OR, 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87–0.99) were related with 1-month mortality in patients with AKI. Conclusion: In this cohort of AKI patients, the most powerful sonographic parameter, as a predictor of 1-month mortality, was diffuse ascites. Further clinical studies are needed to validate and refine these diagnostic findings.
Purpose
The effects of acromegaly on soft tissues, bones and joints are well-documented, but information on its effects on muscle mass and quality remains limited. The primary goal of this study is ...to assess the sonoelastographic features of forearm muscles in patients with acromegaly.
Method
Forty-five patients with acromegaly and 45 healthy controls similar in terms of gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) were included in a single-center, multidisciplinary, cross-sectional study. The body composition was analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and height-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle index (hSMI) was calculated. The dominant hand’s grip strength was also measured. Two radiologists specialized in the musculoskeletal system employed ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to assess the thickness and stiffness of brachioradialis and biceps brachii muscles.
Results
The acromegaly group had significantly higher thickness of both the biceps brachii (p = 0.034) and brachioradialis muscle (p = 0.046) than the control group. However, the stiffness of the biceps brachii (p = 0.001) and brachioradialis muscle (p = 0.001) was lower in the acromegaly group than in the control group. Disease activity has not caused a significant difference in muscle thickness and stiffness in the acromegaly group (p > 0.05). The acromegaly group had a higher hSMI (p = 0.004) than the control group. The hand grip strength was similar between the acromegaly and control group (p = 0.594).
Conclusion
The patients with acromegaly have an increased muscle thickness but decreased muscle stiffness in the forearm muscles responsible for elbow flexion. Acromegaly can lead to a permanent deterioration of the muscular structure regardless of the disease activity.
Objectives
To assess interobserver variability in ultrasound‐based quantitative liver fat content measurements and to determine how much time these quantitative ultrasound (QUS) techniques require.
...Methods
One hundred patients with known or suspected of having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were included in this prospective study. Two observers who were blinded to each other measurements performed tissue attenuation imaging (TAI) and tissue scatter distribution imaging (TSI) techniques independently. Both observers assessed hepatic steatosis visually and obtained 5 measurements for each QUS technique and the median values of the measurements were recorded. Spearman's correlation test was used to assess the correlation between QUS measurements and visual hepatic stetaosis grades. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test was used to assess interobserver variability in QUS measurements.
Results
The median values of TAI measurements for the observers 1 and 2 were 0.75 and 0.74 dB/cm/MHz, respectively. The median values of TSI measurements for the observers 1 and 2 were 93.53 and 92.58, respectively. The interobserver agreement in TAI (ICC: 0.970) and TSI (ICC: 0.938) measurements were excellent. The mean of the required time period for TAI technique were 55.1 ± 7.8 and 59.9 ± 6.6 seconds for the observers 1 and 2, respectively. The mean of the required time period for TSI technique were 49.1 ± 5.8 and 54.1 ± 5.4 seconds for the observers 1 and 2, respectively.
Conclusion
The current study revealed that both TAI and TSI techniques are highly reproducible and can be implemented into daily practice with little additional time requirement.
We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced (DSC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in the noninvasive ...prediction of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status in high-grade gliomas (HGGs).
A total of 58 patients with histopathologically proved HGGs were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent multiparametric MRI on 3-T, including DSC-MRI and DWI before surgery. The mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), relative maximum cerebral blood volume (rCBV), and percentage signal recovery (PSR) of the tumor core were measured and compared depending on the IDH mutation status and tumor grade. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to detect statistically significant differences in parameters between IDH-mutant-type (IDH-m-type) and IDH-wild-type (IDH-w-type) HGGs. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance.
The rCBV was significantly higher, and the PSR value was significantly lower in IDH-w-type tumors than in the IDH-m group (p = 0.002 and <0.001, respectively).The ADC value in IDH-w-type tumors was significantly lower compared with the one in IDH-m types (p = 0.023), but remarkable overlaps were found between the groups. The PSR showed the best diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.938 and with an accuracy rate of 0.87 at the optimal cutoff value of 86.85. The combination of the PSR and the rCBV for the identification of the IDH mutation status increased the discrimination ability at the AUC level of 0.955. In terms of each tumor grade, the PSR and rCBV showed significant differences between the IDH-m and IDH-w groups (p ≤0.001).
The rCBV and PSR from DSC-MRI may be feasible noninvasive imaging parameters for predicting the IDH mutation status in HGGs. The standardization of the imaging protocol is indispensable to the utility of DSC perfusion MRI in wider clinical usage.
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