The present study exposed the intimate relationship between phenotype(s) characterized by HRCT and scoring for morphological abnormalities; and clinical and functional parameters and inflammatory markers. The inclusion of HRCT among routine examinations for COPD may provide significant benefits both in the management and prognosis of COPD patients.

We assessed the relationship between contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and SYNTAX score (SS) and serum uric acid (SUA) levels in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A total of 835 STEMI patients in whom primary percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in our cardiology clinic were included in this study (615 male, 220 female; mean age 58.1 ± 12.2 years). The patients were divided into 2 groups (CIN and non-CIN). Contrast-induced nephropathy was observed in 9.6% (80) of patients; SS (13.9 ± 6.2/22.1 ± 5.8) and SUA (5.1 ± 0.9/6.2 ± 0.9) values in the CIN group were higher compared with the non-CIN group (P < .001, for all). All SS (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.136-1.250, P = .001), SUA (95% CI = 1.877-3.236, P = .002), and diabetes (95% CI = 0.998-1.039, P = .026) were independent predictors of CIN in logistic regression analysis. Procedures that can prevent CIN may be beneficial in patients at high risk as identified by the SS and SUA levels.

The present study was undertaken to determine the presence and predictors of the subclinical atherosclerosis in obese children. Fifty obese children [mean age: 11.7 Ϯ 2.5 y, mean body mass index (BMI): 28.2 Ϯ 4.0 kg/m 2 ] and 50 age-and sex-matched healthy nonobese controls (mean age: 11.4 Ϯ 3.73 y, mean BMI: 17.6 Ϯ 3.0 kg/m 2 ) were enrolled in the present study. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed to all obese subjects. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by highresolution B-mode ultrasonography. Carotid artery IMT was significantly increased (0.0476 Ϯ 0.007 versus 0.033 Ϯ 0.011 cm; p Ͻ 0.001) in the obese group. There were significant relations between carotid artery IMT and insulin sensitivity indexes derived from fasting samples (fasting glucose to insulin ratio (FGIR; p ϭ 0.004, r ϭ -0.404), quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICK-I; p ϭ 0.002, r ϭ -0.401) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; p ϭ 0.034, r ϭ 0.300) in the obese group. In a multivariate regression model, QUICK-I emerged as independent correlates for mean IMT in obese children with the total variance explained being 20.7% (␤ ϭ -0.58, p Ͻ 0.001). We concluded that insulin resistance is an independent risk factor for increased carotid artery IMT in obese children. as coronary artery disease and stroke usually occur in middle and late age, autopsy studies have shown that the atherosclerotic process in the vascular wall begins in childhood and is accelerated in the presence of risk factors (1,2). Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors is seen in children and adolescents with the highest degree of insulin resistance suggesting that adult cardiovascular disease is more likely to develop in these young people (3,4). Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome prevalences among obese adolescents are quite high in the urban area of Konya, central Anatolia. In our previous study, we found that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 27.2% with a significantly higher rate among obese adolescents aged 12-18 y (37.6%) than among obese children aged 7-11 y (20%) (5).Increased common carotid artery IMT is significantly related to known cardiovascular risk factors and to carotid plaque, a more advanced atherosclerotic lesion (6). Measuring carotid artery IMT with ultrasonography correlates well with pathologic measurements and is reproducible. Increased carotid artery IMT is correlated with cardiovascular risk factors and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis and predicts cardiovascular events in population groups (7,8). Carotid artery IMT as a marker of early atherosclerosis has been studied using vascular ultrasonography in children with familial hypercholesterolemia (9), diabetes (10,11), hypertension (12), and childhood obesity (13,14). In a recent study, Zhu et al. found a significant thickening of the intima-media layer in the carotid artery of obese Chinese school children, compared with nonobese controls (15). However, they have not extensively investigated...

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MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGINGORIGINAL ARTICLE PURPOSE We aimed to compare apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values among magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners from different vendors. MATERIALS AND METHODSWe used a custom-made phantom solution consisting of distilled water, 0.9% NaCl, 25% NaCl, and shampoo for diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) examinations. DW-MRI was performed with similar sequence parameters using six different 1.5 Tesla MR scanners (scanners A-F). ADC maps were automatically constructed for all DW-MR images (b factors of 0 and 1000 s/mm 2 ). ADC measurements were performed using regions of interest and seven different software programs, including four different postprocessing workstations, two different picture archiving and communication systems, and operator console software for each MR scanner. RESULTSThe ADC values generated by scanners A and F were higher and those of scanner B were lower than those generated by the other scanners (P = 0.002). The intravendor difference in the ADC values averaged from scanners D, E, and F was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The difference between the ADC values obtained by scanners C and E was not statistically different (P = 0.15).CONCLUSION ADC values may differ among different MRI systems used for DW-MRI. Thus, the MRI vendor should be considered when using DW-MRI in a clinical setting.