Bedside lower‑limb vascular assessment commonly relies on pedal pulse palpation or hand‑held Doppler, yet their relative time‑efficiency and the reliability of Doppler measurements in novices are unclear.

After SARS-CoV-2 infection, some patients develop post-COVID condition (PCC), often associated with sympathicotonia. This study aimed to characterize sympathicotonia in PCC patients using a novel long-term electrodermal activity (EDA) analysis via a smart ring and evaluate its clinical applicability.

Upper airway stenosis may remain undiagnosed for extended periods. Ultrasound allows for the evaluation of the impact of respiratory diseases on diaphragmatic function.

The investigation and therapeutic trials of hematological and hemato-oncological diseases using nuclear medicine methods dates back to the 1930s. At that time, P was used as the isotope for various experimental procedures. Over the years, a wide variety of isotopes and techniques have been developed, some of which have established themselves as the gold standard in certain clinical indications, such as in the management of patients with lymphoma. Other nuclear medicine procedures are used as complementary techniques in more specific clinical scenarios. In recent years, the concept of theranostics has gained popularity in nuclear medicine. Radioendotherapies have been developed and some of them have already been FDA approved. Their promising results could potentially have a major impact on the treatment of patients with hemato-oncologic diseases. In this article we review some of the contemporary techniques used in nuclear medicine and recent developments of clinical indications in the field of hematology and oncology.

Cardiovascular diseases, primarily driven by atherosclerosis, remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Key risk factors include diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, smoking, genetic predispositions and notably, obesity-related visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Like VAT, epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) influences heart function by releasing inflammatory cytokines. This study evaluated the relationship between EAT thickness and coronary artery disease severity, its interaction with risk factors, and its prognostic value for major cardiac and cerebrovascular events in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients after percutaneous intervention (PCI).

To investigate left atrial (LA) function assessed by peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) in an elderly population with silent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) compared to age-matched control group.

Individuals who engage in high-intensity endurance exercise reportedly have a lower rate of mortality from metabolic diseases than do those who engage in moderate-intensity endurance exercise. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. The cytokines C1q/tumour necrosis factor-related protein (CTRP) 3, CTRP9, and follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) improve metabolic diseases. The secretion of these circulating cytokines is enhanced through acute endurance exercise; however, the effects of exercise intensity on this secretion have not been elucidated. We investigated the effect of exercise intensity on the circulating CTRP3, CTRP9, and FSTL1 concentrations.

To compare measurements of skin perfusion pressure (SPP) and transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO) to predict postamputation wound healing according to amputation level.

Although force transfer during elongation occurs longitudinally and transversely, the influence of transverse force transfer between the biceps femoris long head and short head remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether separating the intermuscular connections between the biceps femoris long head and short head alters tension in the biceps femoris long head. Eight human cadaver legs were used, and ultrasonic shear wave elastography measurements were performed under four conditions: (1) intact, (2) removal of all tissues from the skin to the deep fascia, (3) intermuscular dissection, and (4) biceps femoris short head detachment. Measurements were taken in four limb positions, defined by hip and knee joint angles, under each tissue condition. The shear modulus of the biceps femoris long head significantly increased by 62.2% after intermuscular dissection compared to fascia removal, and further increased by 174.7% after biceps femoris short head detachment. In contrast, the shear modulus of the biceps femoris short head significantly decreased by 36.0% following intermuscular dissection and by 75.1% after detachment. In conclusion, reducing biceps femoris short head tension while increasing biceps femoris long head tension may influence muscle stress distribution, particularly during movement.

Breath-hold ECG-gated cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is challenging during exercise due to motion, ECG-problems, and lengthy scans. To facilitate time-resolved volumetric measures from exercise-CMR, we aimed to develop a method for constructing time-resolved ventricular cines from real-time free-breathing exercise-CMR. Time-resolved ventricular cines were semi-automatically constructed from real-time exercise-CMR by identifying end-expiratory timeframes, identifying one R-R interval within these timeframes, and synchronizing R-R intervals across slice positions. To investigate utility, ECG-gated rest CMR and real-time exercise-CMR images were collected from ten healthy volunteers and ten heart failure patients. The consistency of the left ventricular mass (LVM) was assessed between rest and exercise at end diastole (ED), mid systole (MS), end systole (ES), and early rapid filling (ERF). When comparing LVM between rest and exercise for healthy volunteers, bias ± SD was 1.5 ± 2.7 g at ED, 0.9 ± 3.3 g at MS, 1.3 ± 3.3 g at ES, and 1.2 ± 3.3 g at ERF. When comparing LVM between rest and exercise for heart failure patients, bias ± SD was 1.6 ± 2.8 g at ED, 1.0 ± 2.7 g at MS, 1.5 ± 2.6 g at ES, and 1.6 ± 2.5 g at ERF. The bias ± SD between ED and ES in standard rest images was 0.0 ± 0.7 g for healthy volunteers, and 0.0 ± 0.5 g for heart failure patients. The method for constructing time-resolved ventricular cines from real-time exercise-CMR demonstrated utility for time-resolved volumetric measurements in healthy volunteers and heart failure patients.

Hemodynamic failure in patients with steno-occlusive arterial disease is a major risk factor for stroke. Previous studies have identified impaired autonomic function in patients with carotid artery stenosis. Our study explores autonomic dysfunction and altered cerebrovascular hemodynamics in patients with stenosis and suspected hemodynamic failure.

To study the reproducibility of diastolic function parameters from myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using ECG-gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and echocardiography in repeated imaging.

To develop and evaluate a three-dimensional convolutional neural network for automated classification of PET/MRI images in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, assessing its performance against radiologist interpretation and its potential as a diagnostic aid.

This study aimed to examine the adherence to selected health-related fitness (HRF) tests in adults. In addition, we investigated how excluded participants or those who did not attend HRF tests differed in their background characteristics from those who attended.

The present study investigates the relationship between obesity and metabolic, hormonal, and clinical indicators in adolescent girls. A total of 75 girls aged 15-19 years (mean age: 17.53 ± 1.29 years) were enrolled, including 58 with excess weight or obesity and 17 with normal weight. Anthropometric parameters related to obesity, various clinical scores, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance indices, lipid profile, blood pressure, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were assessed. Mann-Whitney U test compared differences between the groups, while Spearman's rho correlation analysed the associations among adiposity, metabolic, and clinical parameters. Simple linear regression predicted insulin resistance indices using BMI, WHR, and WHtR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated the predictive ability of BMI, WHR, and WHtR for insulin resistance. Girls with obesity exhibited significantly higher weight, BMI, WC, WHR, and WHtR (p < 0.05). Acanthosis scores and insulin resistance indices strongly correlated with BMI, WHR, and WHtR, while lipid profile parameters showed no significant association with adiposity. Regression analysis identified BMI and WHtR as strong predictors of HOMA-IR, while WHR and WHtR inversely correlated with QUICKI and GIR. The McAuley Index moderately correlated with BMI and WHtR. ROC analysis confirmed BMI (AUC = 0.779, p = 0.000) and WHtR (AUC = 0.776, p = 0.000) as strong predictors of insulin resistance. Concluding that, obesity in adolescent girls is strongly linked to insulin resistance but not lipid profile parameters. BMI and WHtR emerge as reliable predictors, with acanthosis as a potential clinical marker.

The objectives of this study were to examine how extremity lymphatic collector contraction frequency is influenced by gender, age, and methodological variations in indocyanine green (ICG) injection using near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging in healthy adults. Ten women (19-46 years) and eight men (18-59 years) were examined with 30-min NIRF videos recorded at different time points 0-150 min after injection of ICG. Variations in ICG volume (0.1 mL vs. 0.3 mL), -concentration (1 mg/mL vs. 2.5 mg/mL), -injection site (hand vs. foot), -route of administration (subcutaneous vs. intradermal) were applied to all subjects. The primary outcome was mean contraction frequency with maximum contraction frequency and number of visualised extremity lymphatic collectors as secondary outcomes. The median of mean contraction frequencies for females and males were 0.42 min (IQR 0,19 min) and 0.25 min (IQR 0,15 min), respectively (p = 0.022). The median of maximum contraction frequencies for females and males were 0.70 min (IQR 0,26 min) and 0.34 min (IQR 0,15 min), respectively (p = 0.015). Neither age, method variations nor imaging delay had any significant effect on contraction frequencies. Number of visualised collectors increased slightly during 150 min (p = 0.02). Mean and maximum contraction frequencies were significantly higher in women compared to men. This is a novel finding that warrants verification in future studies. Contraction frequency measured with 30-min NIRF imaging using an ICG volume as little as 0.1 mL and a concentration of 1 mg/mL is seemingly robust and readily available. This method is recommendable for perturbation studies of lymphatic collector function and pathophysiology.

The HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF scores are widely used for diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, HFpEF is a heterogeneous condition with multiple phenotypes influenced by comorbidities and etiologies.

Accurate body composition assessment is crucial for evaluating health and guiding interventions. Four-compartment (4 C) models, which separately quantify fat mass, lean body mass, bone mineral content and total body water, offer improved accuracy but usually require multiple devices. This study aimed to validate dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived body volume (BV) equations-specifically those from Wilson and Smith-Ryan-against air displacement plethysmography (ADP), and to modify the Smith-Ryan equation for enhanced BV estimates in a 4 C model. Ninety healthy adults (50 females, 40 males; aged 18-66 years; BMI 18-34 kg/m²) were recruited at a single-centre facility. Participants underwent DXA scanning (GE Lunar DXA) for tissue composition, ADP (Bod Pod) for BV, and bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy for total body water, with all measurements performed by trained technicians. BV was estimated using the original Wilson and Smith-Ryan equations and a regression-modified Smith-Ryan equation, and these estimates were incorporated into the 4 C model to calculate percent body fat (%BF) and fat mass (FM). All DXA-based BV estimates correlated highly with ADP (r ≥ 0.99). Although the original equations showed small, statistically significant differences in %BF and FM compared to ADP (p < 0.05), the modified Smith-Ryan equation produced BV estimates equivalent to ADP (p = 0.998). These findings suggest that calibrated DXA-derived BV equations can reliably substitute for ADP in 4 C models, enhancing the accessibility and cost-effectiveness of body composition analysis. Future research should validate these findings in more diverse populations.

Muscle quality is well-known to decrease with aging and is a risk factor for metabolic abnormalities. However, the impact of muscle quality decline among aging women and its association with cardiovascular risk remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to compare muscular outcomes and investigate whether a correlation exists between muscle quality and cardiovascular risk factors in women. The reliability of muscle quality measurements in young and older women was also addressed.

While both voluntary (VOL) and electrically stimulated (ES) contractions increase blood flow, ES induces greater oxidative stress, raising the risk of exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD), which can impair vascular function, and oxygen utilization.

Blood pressure (BP) management in acute ischaemic stroke presents uncertainties regarding whether systolic BP (sys), mean BP (mean), or diastolic BP (dia) should be used for therapeutic guidance. Repeated assessments of BP-dependent cerebral autoregulation (CA) could help identify a suitable BP modality for this purpose. Forty-nine patients (median age 75 [62-81] years; 13 women) with unilateral acute ischemic stroke (NIHSS 5 [1.75-15.0]), underwent stroke center care and dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) assessments on days 1 to 3 after the stroke event. Using frequency-dependent transfer function analysis between BP and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), gain indicates the amplitude transmission, and phase shift represents the phase difference between the two. CA failure is typically indicated by a low or absent phase shift in the very low (0.02-0.07 Hz) or low frequencies (0.07-0.20 Hz) ranges, leading to a direct transmission of BP changes to CBFV changes. BP values were averaged, with their standard deviation indicating BP variability (BPV). Averaged sys, mean, or dia BP did not predict gain or phase, but BPV did. In the stroke-affected hemisphere (AH), sys, mean and dia BPV on day 1 predicted low frequency gain on days 1 and 2 (p < 0.02 - p < 0.001). On day 2, dia more than mean BPV predicted linearly (p < 0.001) very low frequency phase with small phase values associated with a low BPV and large phase values with high BPV values. In acute stroke, dia BPV predicts best phase shift, and could be a promising candidate for BP guidance.