No abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of adverse reaction to metal on metal total hip arthroplasty using a M2a-38 articulation and a Magnum articulation, (Biomet Warsaw, Indiana).All patients who had received a Metal on Metal bearing prosthesis, in two centres in Copenhagen, were asked to complete a questionnaire about groin pain. Patients with self-reported groin pain, 68/314, underwent a physical examination and had Co and Cr ion levels measured in full blood samples. Fifty patients also had a CT scan performed.The present study found one patient with bilateral arthroplasty, who had an adverse reaction on one side. In addition the study showed that females had higher values of Co and Cr, and that younger patient reported groin pain more often.The conclusion of this study is that the number of adverse reactions is low, despite the time of observation being relatively short, no high frequency of adverse reactions to this prosthesis is expected.

In vivo localized water suppressed proton spectroscopy of human brain was carried out on 15 healthy volunteers and 2 patients suffering from a brain tumour and an infarction, respectively. The measurements were performed on a whole body MR system, operating at 1.5 tesla using the stimulated echo technique. Our preliminary results indicate that it is possible to detect a number of metabolites in the brain within a total measurement time of one hour. The dominant peaks in the spectra from healthy volunteers are Nacetyl aspartate, choline and creatine/phosphocreatine. The spectra obtained from the brain tumour and the infarct, respectively, differed very much from those obtained in healthy brain tissue. Our preliminary results indicate that localized proton spectroscopy may contribute to non-invasive brain tumour classification and possibly also to the differentiation between tumours and infarcts in clinically doubtful cases.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) may contribute to the characterization of intracranial tumors in vivo. Volume selective water suppressed proton spectroscopy offers the possibility to study a number of metabolites in the brain including choline (CHO), creatininc/phosphocrcatininc (CR/PCR), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and lactate. Using the stimulated echo technique we have studied 17 patients with intracranial tumors. In all cases the tumors were classified based on histologic evaluation. The tumor spectra differed considerably from those obtained in healthy brain tissue. The results indicate a relative decrease in the NAA and CR/PCR content. In many cases a lactate peak could be seen especially in the tumors with malignant growth characteristics. Our preliminary results suggest that proton spectroscopy may contribute to the differentiation of brain tumors with respect to benign or malignant growth. However, further research is warranted before a definite conclusion can be drawn.