Tag: Computed tomography

Categories
Featured Healthy Tips

When ‘Baby Fat’ is Good for Health

[amazon_link asins=’B00JEKYNZA,B01N0MI131,B071JGH7XZ,B07819P4ZN,B010OLCIYA,B004KMP0TU,B01N90QU6P,B071F1488H,B01N5BU6NO’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4aa2ac35-0a26-11e8-94ce-678a08c654a0′]

Want to shed your baby fat? Wait, don’t do it just yet, for a new study has revealed that such a fat is good – as long as it is calorie-burning -”Brown Fat”.

CLICK & SEE

Brown fat burns off calories and generates heat in babies and small mammals.

Most of the body fat is white fat, which also provides insulation but stores calories. It becomes “bad” fat when an individual have too much. The “good” fat-brown fat-was considered essentially nonexistent in human adults.

The new study has found that adults have much more of this type of fat than previously believed.

“We now know that it is present and functional in adults,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Aaron Cypess, MMSc, of the Joslin Diabetes Centre in Boston.

“Three ounces of brown fat can burn several hundred calories a day,” he added.

In the new study involving 1,970 study participants, researchers measured the patches of brown adipose tissue-brown fat-in people with the help of high-tech imaging method that combines positron emission tomography and computed tomography, called PET/CT.

By evaluating biopsy tissue of what appeared to be brown fat, the authors confirmed that they were, indeed, looking at stores of brown fat.

The researchers found that brown fat was located in an area extending from the front of the neck to the chest.

Of the subjects who had detectable brown fat, about 6 percent had 3 ounces or more of the fat.

“We believe that this percentage greatly underestimates the number of adults in the population who have a large amount of brown fat,” said Cypess.

They also discovered that brown fat is most abundant in young women and least frequent in older, overweight men. In fact, women were more than twice as likely as men to have substantial amounts of brown fat.

“One theory for this is that women may have less muscle mass overall, so they need more brown fat to generate heat and keep warm,” Cypess said.

Source: The study appears in New England Journal of Medicine.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Categories
News on Health & Science

Simple Appendicitis Test Under Development

Researchers link a chemical in children’s urine to appendicitis. Emergency rooms could test for it, preventing unnecessary surgery and increasing the chance of removing the appendix before it bursts.

……………Appendicitis

Researchers have identified a chemical in urine that is closely associated with appendicitis in children and are working to develop a simple test that could be used to diagnose the condition — a test that would both increase the likelihood of performing surgery before the appendix bursts and prevent unnecessary surgery.

Preliminary results show that the test is highly accurate, producing very few instances in which cases are missed (false negatives) or children are incorrectly diagnosed with the condition (false positives), a team from Children’s Hospital Boston reported today in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Appendicitis is the most common childhood surgical emergency. The lifetime prevalence of appendicitis is 9% for males and 7% for females, but the bulk of the cases occur in childhood or adolescence. In the past, diagnosis was made simply from clinical symptoms, such as abdominal pain, and as many as 30% of cases in which surgery was performed revealed a healthy appendix.

Within the last few years, emergency room specialists have begun using CT scans for diagnosis, which reduces the number of unnecessary surgeries to as low as 5%. But in as many as 30% to 45% of those diagnosed with appendicitis, the organ has already ruptured at the time of surgery, leading to a variety of complications that lengthen hospital stays.

There has also been a growing reluctance to use CT scanners on children because of the risk that the radiation will trigger cancer later in life.

Dr. Richard Bachur and his colleagues studied urine from healthy children and those with surgically confirmed appendicitis, and concluded that high levels of one chemical, leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein or LRG, correlated very closely with an inflamed appendix. Tests in 67 children showed that the amount in the urine was correlated to the severity of the inflammation, and the number of false positives and false negatives associated with its use were each less than 3%.

The team is now studying a larger number of urine samples and is working “feverishly” to develop a simple test for LRG that could be used in emergency rooms, Bachur said. “We could take urine and, in minutes, have an answer,” he added.

He cautioned that the team has not yet studied potential markers in adults and they don’t know whether the same test would work. “Adult diseases are a little different,” Bachur said.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Categories
Diagnonistic Test

Radionuclide Scan of the Kidneys

[amazon_link asins=’B000N3BZIA,0757004113,B003XNCHAM,B001GXQMBG’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’81da0ccd-4fe7-11e7-b334-9fb098e8e8e6′]

Definition
A radionuclide scan of the kidneys shows a picture of your kidneys while they are at work making urine.A kidney radionuclide scan, also called a kidney scan or renal scan, is a diagnostic imaging test that involves administering a small amount of radionuclide, also called a radioactive tracer, into the body and then imaging the kidneys with a gamma camera. The images obtained can help in the diagnosis and treatment of various kidney diseases and conditions. This test can be useful to evaluate infection, blockages, injury to the kidneys, and some causes of high blood pressure.

CLICK & SEE

Precautions
A kidney scan requires the use of a radioactive material; therefore, patients who are pregnant or suspect they may be pregnant are cautioned not to have the test unless the benefits outweigh the risks. Women should inform their doctor if they are breast feeding. The doctor will recommend the woman stop breast feeding for a specified period of time, depending on the particular tracer and dose used.

Description
Kidney scans are performed either in a hospital nuclear medicine department or in an outpatient radiology or nuclear medicine facility. The patient is positioned in front of, or under, a gamma camera—a special piece of equipment that detects the radiation emitted from the body and produces an image. An intravenous injection of the radionuclide is administered. Immediately after the injection imaging begins, and, in most studies, the flow of blood to each kidney is evaluated. Serial images of the kidneys are obtained over a specified period of time, depending upon the particular radiopharmaceutical used. Kidney scans may be performed to determine the rate at which the kidneys are filtering a patient’s blood. These studies use a radiopharmaceutical called technetium DTPA (Tc99m DTPA). This radiopharmaceutical also can identify obstruction in the renal collecting system. To establish the function of the renal tubules, the radiopharmaceutical Technetium DMSA (Tc99m DMSA) is used.

A kidney scan ranges from 45 minutes to three hours in length, depending upon the goals of the test, but the test typically takes about an hour to an hour and a half. It is important to understand that kidney scans can reveal an abnormality, but they do not always identify the specific problem. They are very useful in providing information about how the various parts of the kidneys function, which, in turn, can assist in making a diagnosis.

Typically, posterior images are obtained but images are also obtained at oblique angles. If indicated, the patient may be positioned so that mobility of the kidney is demonstrated by sitting up or lying down for the images. If obstruction or renal function is being evaluated, a diuretic (drug to induce urination), such as Lasix, may be injected. If hypertension or renal artery sterosis is being evaluated, Captopril or Enalapril (ACE inhibitors) may be injected.
Preparation
No special preparation is necessary for a kidney scan. In some instances the patient may be required to drink additional liquids and to empty their bladder before the exam. If another nuclear medicine study was recently performed, the patient may have to wait for a specified period to avoid any interference from residual radioactivity in the body. The patient is instructed to remove metal items from the area to be scanned.

Let your doctor know if you could be pregnant or if you are breast-feeding a baby. The medicine used in this test would expose your baby to radiation.

What happens when the test is performed.
You have an IV (intravenous) line placed into a vein. A slightly radioactive version of a substance called sodium pertechnetate is injected through the IV. This substance helps your kidneys and urine show up on pictures.

A camera that is specially designed to detect radioactivity is placed against your back or abdomen. A number of pictures are taken over time. The camera itself does not expose you to any additional radiation, so the number of pictures is not harmful in any way. The test is usually completed within an hour.

Risk Factors:
Many people worry when they hear that the medicine used in this test is slightly radioactive. In truth, this test exposes you to a very small amount of radiation-no greater than that of routine xrays.

Moreover, Nuclear medicine procedures are very safe. Unlike some of the dyes that may be used in x-ray studies, radioactive tracers rarely cause side effects. There are no long-lasting effects of the tracers themselves, because they have no functional effects on the body’s tissues. If pharmaceuticals are injected these can temporarily raise or lower blood pressure, or cause one to urinate.

Aftercare
Patients can resume their normal daily activities immediately after the test. Most radioactive tracers are excreted through the urinary system, so drinking fluids after a kidney scan can help flush the tracer out of the body more quickly.

Results
The scan should reveal normal kidney function for the patient’s age and medical status, as well as show normal relative position, size, configuration, and location of the kidneys. Initial blood flow images should reflect that blood circulation to both kidneys is equal. Patients whose images suggest a space-occupying lesion or obstruction may require other imaging procedures, such as CT or ultrasound, to provide more information. Also, if the kidneys appear to be abnormal in size, have an unusual contour, or are unusually positioned, other imaging procedures may be required.

Resources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/diagnostics/radionuclide-scan-of-the-kidneys.shtml
http://www.enotes.com/nursing-encyclopedia/kidney-radionuclide-scan

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Related articles
Categories
Diagnonistic Test

Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography (PTCA)

[amazon_link asins=’B0006EUSVG’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d3ed266b-9cfe-11e7-a024-43c133717570′]

 

Definition:

Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTHC or PTC) is a radiologic technique used to visualize the anatomy of the biliary tract. A contrast medium is injected into a bile duct in the liver, after which X-rays are taken. It allows access to the biliary tree in cases where endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been unsuccessful. Initially reported in 1937, the procedure became popular after a 1952 report in the English-language literature.

CLICK & SEE
It is an x-ray test that can help show whether there is a blockage in the liver or the bile ducts that drain it. Since the liver and its drainage system do not normally show up on x-rays, the doctor doing the x-ray needs to inject a special dye directly into the drainage system of the liver. This dye, which is visible on x-rays, should then spread out to fill the whole drainage system. If it does not, that means there is a blockage. This type of blockage might result from a gallstone or a cancer in the liver.

It is predominatly now performed as a therapeutic technique. There are less invasive means of imaging the biliary tree including transabdominal ultrasound, MRCP, computed tomography and endoscopic ultrasound. If the biliary system is obstructed, PTC may be used to drain bile until a more permanent solution for the obstruction is performed (e.g. surgery). Additionally, self expanding metal stents can be placed across malignant biliary strictures to allow palliative drainage. Percutaneous placement of metal stents can be utilised when therapeutic ERCP has been unsuccessful, anatomy is altered precluding endoscopic access to the duodenum, or where there has been separation of the segmental biliary drainage of the liver, allowing more selective placement of metal stents. It is generally accepted that percutanous biliary procedures have higher complication rates than therapeutic ERCP. Complications encountered include infection, bleeding and bile leaks.
Why the test is performed?
Bile is a by-product of protein metabolism. It is created in the liver and excreted into the intestines via the bile ducts. If bile cannot be removed from the body, it collects in the blood and is seen as a yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice).

Also, the pancreas creates digestive fluids which drain via a common bile duct into the intestine, and thus obstruction can prevent the drainage of the fluids and may cause pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).

A PTCA test can help identify whether a blockage is causing the jaundice and pancreatitis.

How do you prepare for the test?
Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to lidocaine or the numbing medicine used at the dentist’s office. Also tell your doctor if you could be pregnant. If you have diabetes and take insulin, discuss this with your doctor before the test.

Most people need to have a blood test done some time before the procedure, to make sure they are not at high risk for bleeding complications. If you take aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or other medicines that affect blood clotting, talk with your doctor. It may be necessary to stop or adjust the dose of these medicines before your test.

You will be told not to eat anything on the morning of the test so that your stomach is empty. This is a safety measure in the unlikely case you have a complication, such as bleeding, that might require repair surgery.

What happens when the test is performed?
You lie on a table wearing a hospital gown. An IV (intravenous) line is inserted into a vein in case you need medicines or fluid during the procedure. An area over your right ribcage is cleaned with an antibacterial soap. Then the radiologist may take a picture of your abdomen with an overhead camera. Medicine is injected through a small needle to numb the skin and the tissue underneath the skin in the area where the dye is to be injected. You may feel some brief stinging from the numbing medicine.

A separate needle is then inserted between two of your ribs on your right side. A small amount of xray dye is injected, and some pictures are taken that are visible on a video screen. Your doctor adjusts the placement of the needle until it is clear that the dye is flowing easily through the ducts (drainage tubes) inside your liver.

Because taking the x-ray pictures sometimes requires a significant amount of time, the doctor replaces the needle with a softer plastic tube. First, the syringe holding the dye is detached from the top of the needle, leaving the needle in place. The doctor then gently pushes a thin wire through the needle and into the duct where the needle has been sitting. Next the needle is pulled out, sliding over the outside end of the wire. The wire is left with one end inside the liver to hold the position where the needle had been. A thin plastic tube similar to an IV line is slid along the wire, like a long bead on a string, until it is in the same place where the needle was. The wire is then pulled out, and the dye syringe is attached to the tube.

More dye is injected through the plastic tube, and pictures are taken with the video camera as the dye spreads inside the liver. If there is no blockage, the dye drains out of the liver through the bile ducts and begins to show up on the x-ray in the area of your small intestine. Once all of the needed pictures have been taken, the plastic tube is pulled out, and a small bandage is placed over your side. The whole test usually takes less than an hour.

Risk Factors:
It is possible to have serious bleeding from this test. In some cases, blood leaks to the outside surface of the liver and causes a buildup of blood there. In other cases, blood can leak directly into the liver’s drainage system, in which case it might start showing up in your intestine, causing a bloody bowel movement. It is less likely that you could develop an infection after the test. The only soreness you are likely to have is at the skin surface where the needle went in. This should last for only a day or two.

In rare cases, the dye used in the test can damage your kidneys. This kidney effect is almost always temporary, but some people have permanent damage.

As with all x-rays, there is a small exposure to radiation. In large amounts, exposure to radiation can cause cancers or (in pregnant women) birth defects. The amount of radiation from the video x-ray in this test is very small-too small to be likely to cause any harm. (The people performing the test on you will wear lead shields, since they would otherwise be exposed to this radiation over and over, which could be more of a danger.)

Must you do anything special after the test is over?
Call your doctor right away if you have pain in your right abdomen or shoulder, fever, dizziness, or a change in your stool color to black or red.

How long is it before the result of the test is known?
You may be told a few early results of your test as soon as the test is done. It takes a day or two for the radiologist to review the x-rays more thoroughly and to give your doctor a full report.

RESULTS:-

Normal Result:-The bile ducts are normal in size and appearance for the age of the patient.

Abnormal Results:-The results may show that the ducts are enlarged, which may indicate the ducts are blocked. The blockage may be caused by infection, scarring, or stones. It may also indicate cancer in the bile ducts, liver, pancreas, or region of the gallbladder.

You may click & See:–
*Blocked bile ducts
*Cholangitis (infection in common bile duct)
Special considerations:-
A PTCA may be done if an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography ( ERCP) cannot be performed or has failed in the past.

An MRCP (magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography) is a newer, non-invasive imaging method, based on MRI, which provides similar views of the bile ducts.

Resources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/diagnostics/percutaneous-transhepatic-cholangiography.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percutaneous_transhepatic_cholangiography
http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/percutaneous-transhepatic-cholangiogram

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Related articles
Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Cholangiocarcinoma

Alternative Names: Bile duct cancer

Definition: Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancerous (malignant) growth in the bile duct which drain bile from the liver into the small intestine. Other biliary tract cancers include pancreatic cancer, gall bladder cancer, and cancer of the ampulla of Vater. Cholangiocarcinoma is a relatively rare adenocarcinoma, with an annual incidence of 1–2 cases per 100,000 in the Western world, but rates of cholangiocarcinoma have been rising worldwide over the past several decades.

CLICK  & SEE THE PICTURES

Causes
Cancerous tumors of the bile ducts are usually slow-growing and do not spread (metastasize) quickly. However, many of these tumors are already advanced by the time they are found.

A cholangiocarcinoma may start anywhere along the bile ducts. These tumors block off the bile ducts.

They affect both men and women. Most patients are older than 65.

Risk Factors:
Although most patients present without any known risk factors evident, a number of risk factors for the development of cholangiocarcinoma have been described; in the Western world, the most common of these is primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts which is in turn closely associated with ulcerative colitis (UC). Epidemiologic studies have suggested that the lifetime risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma for a person with PSC is 10%–15%,  although autopsy series have found rates as high as 30% in this population. The mechanism by which PSC increases the risk of cholangiocarcinoma is not well-understood.
Certain parasitic liver diseases may be risk factors as well. Colonization with the liver flukes Opisthorchis viverrini (found in Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia) or Clonorchis sinensis (found in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam) has been associated with the development of cholangiocarcinoma. Patients with chronic liver disease, whether in the form of viral hepatitis (e.g. hepatitis B or C), alcoholic liver disease, or cirrhosis from other causes, are at increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma. HIV infection was also identified in one study as a potential risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma, although it was unclear whether HIV itself or correlated factors (e.g. hepatitis C infection) were responsible for the association.

click to see
Congenital liver abnormalities, such as Caroli’s syndrome or choledochal cysts, have been associated with an approximately 15% lifetime risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma. The rare inherited disorders Lynch syndrome II and biliary papillomatosis are associated with cholangiocarcinoma. The presence of gallstones (cholelithiasis) is not clearly associated with cholangiocarcinoma. However, intrahepatic stones (so-called hepatolithiasis), which are rare in the West but common in parts of Asia, have been strongly associated with cholangiocarcinoma. Exposure to Thorotrast, a form of thorium dioxide which was used as a radiologic contrast medium, has been linked to the development of cholangiocarcinoma as late as 30–40 years after exposure; Thorotrast was banned in the United States in the 1950s due to its carcinogenicity.

Ricks for this condition include:

* Bile duct (choledochal) cysts
* Chronic biliary irritation
* History of infection with the parasitic worm, liver flukes
* Primary sclerosing cholangitis

Cholangiocarcinoma is rare. It occurs in approximately 2 out of 100,000 people.

Symptoms
* Chills
* Clay-colored stools
* Fever
* Itching
* Loss of appetite
* Pain in the upper right abdomen that may radiate to the back
* Weight loss
* Yellowing of the skin (jaundice)

The most common physical indications of cholangiocarcinoma are abnormal liver function tests, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), which occurs only when bile ducts are blocked by the tumor, abdominal pain (30%–50%), generalized itching (66%), weight loss (30%–50%), fever (up to 20%), or changes in stool or urine color.To some extent, the symptoms depend upon the location of the tumor: Patients with cholangiocarcinoma in the extrahepatic bile ducts (outside the liver) are more likely to have jaundice, while those with tumors of the bile ducts within the liver often have pain without jaundice.
.Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)->     CLICK & SEE
Blood tests of liver function in patients with cholangiocarcinoma often reveal a so-called “obstructive picture,” with elevated bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma glutamyl transferase levels, and relatively normal transaminase levels. Such laboratory findings suggest obstruction of the bile ducts, rather than inflammation or infection of the liver, as the primary cause of the jaundice.  CA19-9 is elevated in most cases

Diagnosis:–
Cholangiocarcinoma is definitively diagnosed from tissue, i.e. it is proven by biopsy or examination of the tissue excised at surgery. It may be suspected in a patient with obstructive jaundice. Considering it as the working-diagnosis may be challenging in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC); such patients are at high risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma, but the symptoms may be difficult to distinguish from those of PSC. Furthermore, in patients with PSC, such diagnostic clues as a visible mass on imaging or biliary ductal dilatation may not be evident.

Exams and Tests:-
Blood tests
Blood tests that show abnormal function.
There are no specific blood tests that can diagnose cholangiocarcinoma by themselves. Serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9 are often elevated, but are not sensitive or specific enough to be used as a general screening tool. However, they may be useful in conjunction with imaging methods in supporting a suspected diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma.
:

Abdominal imaging
CT scan showing cholangiocarcinomaUltrasound of the liver and biliary tree is often used as the initial imaging modality in patients with suspected obstructive jaundice. Ultrasound can identify obstruction and ductal dilatation and, in some cases, may be sufficient to diagnose cholangiocarcinoma.  Computed tomography (CT) scanning may also play an important role in the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma.

Tests that show a tumor or blockage in the bile duct:
*Abdominal CT scan
*Abdominal ultrasound
*CT scan-directed biopsy
*Cytology
*Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
*Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram (PTCA)

Liver function tests (especially bilirubin)

Treatment  :-
The goal is to treat the cancer and the blockage it causes. When possible, surgery to remove the tumor is the treatment of choice and may result in a cure. However, often the cancer has already spread by the time it is diagnosed.

Chemotherapy or radiation may be given after surgery to decrease the risk of the cancer returning. However, the benefit of this treatment is not certain.

Endoscopic therapy or surgery can clear blockages in the biliary ducts and relieve jaundice in patients when the tumor cannot be removed.

For patients with cancer that cannot be removed, radiation therapy may be beneficial. Chemotherapy may be added to radiation therapy or used when the tumor has spread. However, this is rarely effective.

Support Groups:-
You can ease the stress of illness by joining a support group with members who share common experiences and problems (see cancer – support group).

Hospice is often a good resource for patients with cholangiocarcinoma that cannot be cured.

Prognosis:
Surgical resection offers the only potential chance of cure in cholangiocarcinoma. For non-resectable cases, the 5-year survival rate is 0% where the disease is inoperable because distal lymph nodes show metastases[63], and less than 5% in general. Overall median duration of survival is less than 6 months in inoperable, untreated, otherwise healthy patients with tumors involving the liver by way of the intrahepatic bile ducts and hepatic portal vein.

For surgical cases, the odds of cure vary depending on the tumor location and whether the tumor can be completely, or only partially, removed. Distal cholangiocarcinomas (those arising from the common bile duct) are generally treated surgically with a Whipple procedure; long-term survival rates range from 15%–25%, although one series reported a five year survival of 54% for patients with no involvement of the lymph nodes. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (those arising from the bile ducts within the liver) are usually treated with partial hepatectomy. Various series have reported survival estimates after surgery ranging from 22%–66%; the outcome may depend on involvement of lymph nodes and completeness of the surgery. Perihilar cholangiocarcinomas (those occurring near where the bile ducts exit the liver) are least likely to be operable. When surgery is possible, they are generally treated with an aggressive approach often including removal of the gallbladder and potentially part of the liver. In patients with operable perihilar tumors, reported 5-year survival rates range from 20%–50%.

The prognosis may be worse for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who develop cholangiocarcinoma, likely because the cancer is not detected until it is advanced. Some evidence suggests that outcomes may be improving with more aggressive surgical approaches and adjuvant therapy.

Possible Complications :-
*Infection
*Liver failure
*Spread (metastasis) of tumor to other organs.

When to Contact a Medical Professional :-
Call your health care provider if you have jaundice or other symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholangiocarcinoma
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/000291.htm

Related articles
Enhanced by ZemantaICK
css.php