This study prospectively evaluates the accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis of nodules 20 mm or smaller detected during ultrasound (US) surveillance. We included 89 patients with cirrhosis [median age, 65 years; male 53, hepatitis C virus 68, Child-Pugh A 80] without prior hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in whom US detected a small solitary nodule (mean diameter, 14 mm). Hepatic MRI, CEUS, and fine-needle biopsy (gold standard) (FNB) were performed at baseline. Non-HCC cases were followed (median 23 months) by CEUS/3 months and MRI/6 months. FNB was repeated up to 3 times and on detection of change in aspect/size. Intense arterial contrast uptake followed by washout in the delayed/venous phase was registered as conclusive for HCC. Final diagnoses were: HCC (n ‫؍‬ 60), cholangiocarcinoma (n ‫؍‬ 1), and benign lesions (regenerative/dysplastic nodule, hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia) (n ‫؍‬ 28). Sex, cirrhosis cause, liver function, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were similar between HCC and non-HCC groups. HCC patients were older and their nodules significantly larger (P < 0.0001).

A 42-year-old woman admitted with debilitation and engorgement both lower extremities. Transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography, abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography revealed a lobulated pelvic mass, a mass within right internal iliac vein, both common iliac vein, as well as the inferior vena cava, extending into the right atrium. In addition, echocardiography and abdominal ultrasound showed the tumor of right atrium and inferior vena cave has no stalk and has well-demarcated borders with the wall of right atrium and inferior vena cave. Hence, the presumptive diagnosis of IVL was made by echocardiography and abdominal ultrasound and the presumptive diagnosis of sarcoma with invasion in right internal iliac vein, both common iliac vein, the inferior vena cava, as well as the right atrium was made by multi-detector-row computerized tomography. The patient underwent a one-stage combined multidisciplinary thoraco-abdominal operation under general anaesthetic. Subsequently the pathologic report confirmed IVL.

A new echocardiographic technique, such as 2DSTE, shows a significant early improvement in global and segmental left ventricular systolic function after TAVI, which could not be detected by conventional methods.

No abstract

Telencephalic radial glial progenitors (RGPs) are retained in the ventricular zone (VZ), the niche for neural stem cells during cortical development. However, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. To study whether protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) may regulate the above process, we generate Ppp2cα conditional knockout (cKO) mice, in which PP2A catalytic subunit α (PP2Acα) is inactivated in neural progenitor cells in the dorsal telencephalon. We show that RGPs are ectopically distributed in cortical areas outside of the VZ in Ppp2cα cKO embryos. Whereas deletion of PP2Acα does not affect the proliferation of RGPs, it significantly impairs the generation of late-born neurons. We find complete loss of apical adherens junctions (AJs) in the ventricular membrane in Ppp2cα cKO cortices. We observe abundant colocalization for N-cadherin and PP2Acα in control AJs. Moreover, in vitro analysis reveals direct interactions of N-cadherin to PP2Acα and to β-catenin. Overall, this study not only uncovers a novel function of PP2Acα in retaining RGPs into the VZ but also demonstrates the impact of PP2A-dependent retention of RGPs on the generation for late-born neurons.