BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Imaging features of spine degeneration are common in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. We compared the prevalence of MR imaging features of lumbar spine degeneration in adults 50 years of age and younger with and without self-reported low back pain.

In the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, epidural injection of glucocorticoids plus lidocaine offered minimal or no short-term benefit as compared with epidural injection of lidocaine alone. (Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01238536.).

The first clinical photon-counting detector CT system demonstrated superior spatial resolution relative to current CT systems and improved noise properties and multi-energy temporal resolution relative to similarly configured, energy-integrating detector CT. Key Results1. The high-resolution mode of the photon-counting detector (PCD) CT demonstrated 125-micron in-plane spatial resolution and 0.3 mm longitudinal resolution, the smallest reported to date for a clinical CT system.2. The PCD CT system provided 66-msec temporal resolution multi-energy imaging in dual-source mode.3. Noise reduction (up to 47%) or dose reduction (up to 30%) were achieved in study participants using the PCD CT system relative to a similar CT system equipped with conventional detectors.

Summary. In a retrospective cohort, 192 (48%) out of 397 patients with polycythaemia vera had a documented history of pruritus. At diagnosis, the presence of pruritus was significantly associated with a lower mean corpuscular volume and a higher leucocyte count. Among 66 patients with documentation of treatment for pruritus, 389`patient visits' were reviewed, revealing a significant correlation between active pruritus and low mean corpuscular volume, but not platelet, leucocyte or basophil count. Paroxetine and hydroxyzine were rated by patients to be the most effective drugs in controlling pruritus. These observations suggest a pathogenetic role for both iron deficiency and biogenic amines in polycythaemia vera-associated pruritus.