Eduardo Tinois

Texture analysis of hippocampal sclerosis.

Summary:  Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is frequently associated with refractory seizures and pathologic features of hippocampal sclerosis (HS). Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques can improve the detection and quantification of HS. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether MRI texture analysis can detect hippocampal abnormalities in patients with pathologically proven HS.

Gastric emptying and intragastric distribution of a solid meal in functional dyspepsia: Influence of gender and Anxiety

Background Gastric dysmotility and psychological factors have been implicated in the pathophysiology of functional dyspepsia. Goals To investigate the influence of gender and anxiety on gastric emptying and intragastric food distribution in patients with functional dyspepsia. Methods A standard gastric emptying test was used to study total and compartmental gastric emptying of a solid meal in 22 patients with functional dyspepsia (16 women). Comparisons of the data for dyspeptic men and women were made with 2 respective subgroups of controls (9 men; 9 women). The presence of anxiety and depression was assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Results Delayed gastric emptying was observed in 32% of patients with functional dyspepsia. As a group, dyspeptic women had a significantly longer half-emptying time as compared with dyspeptic men (119 ± 41 min vs. 78 ± 22 min) and to female controls (96 ± 17 min). There was no difference in half-emptying times between male patients and controls. The initial activity in the proximal stomach was significantly lower for both men and women with functional dyspepsia in comparison with their respective controls. In addition, meal retention in the distal stomach of dyspeptic women was significantly greater than that in female controls. Sixteen (72%) functional dyspepsia patients had anxiety when evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Those patients who scored for anxiety showed significantly greater antral meal retention than patients without anxiety. Conclusion Our study confirmed that prolonged gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia is related to the female sex, while the abnormalities of the meal intragastric distribution appear to occur in dyspeptic males and females. Anxiety is frequent in functional dyspepsia and seems to be related to abnormal antral retention of food in these patients.

Estudo do esvaziamento gástrico e da distribuição intragástrica de uma dieta sólida através da cintilografia: diferenças entre os sexos

Gender-related differences in gastric emptying are still controversial. The aims of this study were: to confirm the sex-related difference in gastric emptying of a solid meal and to investigate its association with different patterns of meal distribution between the proximal and distal gastric compartments. Eighteen healthy volunteers (nine males, mean age 35 +/- 9 years; nine females, mean age: 41 +/- 11 years) were studied in the morning, after ingestion of the solid test-meal (an omelette labeled with 185MBq of 99mTc-sulfur colloid). Simultaneous anterior and posterior images of the stomach were acquired immediately after ingestion of the meal and every 10 minutes for 120 minutes. Time versus activity curves were obtained for the whole, proximal and distal stomach. Gastric T1/2 was longer in women (96.1 +/- 17.2 min) than in men (79.9 +/- 17.8 min; P = 0.02). The analysis of the meal distribution inside the stomach showed no differences between males and females in proximal gastric emptying, but the meal retention in the distal compartment was significantly increased among women (P = 0.04). In conclusion, gastric emptying of a solid meal is slower in pre-menopausal women than in age-matched men, probably due to an increased retention of the meal in the distal compartment. This should be taken into consideration to avoid misleading diagnosis of gastroparesis for female patients.

Breast density in women with premature ovarian failure or postmenopausal women using hormone therapy: analytical cross-sectional study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Studies on postmenopausal women have reported increased risk of breast cancer relating to the type and duration of hormone therapy (HT) used. Women with premature ovarian failure (POF) represent a challenge, since they require prolonged HT. Little is known about the impact of prolonged HT use on these womens breasts. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of one type of HT on the breast density of women with POF, compared with postmenopausal women. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). METHODS 31 women with POF and 31 postmenopausal women, all using HT consisting of conjugated equine estrogen combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate, and matched according to HT duration, were studied. Mammography was performed on all subjects and was analyzed by means of digitization or Wolfes classification, stratified into two categories: non-dense (N1 and P1 patterns) and dense (P2 and Dy). RESULTS No significant difference in breast density was found between the two groups through digitization or Wolfes classification. From digitization, the mean breast density was 24.1% ± 14.6 and 18.1% ± 17.2 in the POF and postmenopausal groups, respectively (P = 0.15). Wolfes classification identified dense breasts in 51.6% and 29.0%, respectively (P = 0.171). CONCLUSION There was no difference in breast density between the women with POF and postmenopausal women, who had used HT for the same length of time. These results may help towards compliance with HT use among women with POF.

Digital-image analysis to predict weight and yields of boneless subprimal beef cuts

For several decades, beef carcass evaluation for grading or research purposes has relied upon subjective visual scores, and manually taken measurements, but in recent times there has been a growing interest in new technologies capable of improving accuracy of estimates. Equations to predict weight and yield of beef pistol subprimal cuts were developed in this work using digital image analysis (VIA) of the 12th rib steak. Equations to predict total pistol subprimal cuts weight (CUTS) had coefficients of determination (CD) of 0.84, or 0.87 to 0.88, when the independent variables were the VIA parameters and the half carcass weight (HC) or the total pistol weight (TP), respectively. The predicted values for the total seven subprimal cuts, as a percentage of half carcass weight (CUTS%), presented CD values ranging from 0.37 to 0.47, or 0.21 to 0.31, using HC or TP as a principal independent variable. Likewise, the equation for weight of the individual subprimal cuts had CD values ranging from 0.40 to 0.72, or 0.43 to 0.74 using HC or TP, respectively. In this research, the developed VIA procedure has demonstrated good repeatability and accuracy to estimate the total pistol subprimal weights, and some individual subprimal weights.

Mammographic breast density in women with premature ovarian failure: a prospective analysis.

ObjectiveThis study aims to compare breast density between two mammograms in women with premature ovarian failure (POF). MethodsA cohort study evaluated 56 women with POF. Two mammograms performed at least 2 years apart were analyzed. Mammogram films were digitalized, and images were assessed using a computer-assisted method; the percentage of breast image that is radiologically dense is referred to as the percentage of mammographic density (PMD). Age at menarche, age at onset of POF, length of POF, length of estrogen-progestin therapy (EPT), body mass index (BMI), pregnancy, and age at the time of each mammogram were evaluated. ResultsThe mean (SD) age at POF diagnosis was 32.35 (5.95) years. In the first mammogram, the mean (SD) age, BMI, and length of POF were 37.58 (3.72) years, 26.79 (4.86) kg/m2, and 5.25 (4.61) years, respectively. EPT had been used for a mean (SD) of 2.71 (3.12) years. In the second mammogram, the mean (SD) age, BMI, and length of POF were 43.23 (4.98) years, 27.6 (5.39) kg/m2, and 10.5 (5.11) years, respectively. EPT had been used for a mean (SD) of 7.25 (4.6) years. The mean (SD) interval between mammograms was 5.25 (3) years, and the mean (SD) PMD decreased from 27.78% (21.04%) to 17.53% (15.71%) (P = 0.007). Comparing PMD between women taking EPT and those not taking EPT, we observed no significant differences. In both instances, multiparous women had lower PMD than nulliparous women (P < 0.05). BMI, length of POF, and pregnancy were negatively correlated with PMD. ConclusionsBreast density in young women with POF decreases across a period of 5 years, regardless of EPT use. Further studies may elucidate how this result will correlate with decision-making in clinical therapeutics and breast cancer risk in POF.

Coeficientes de proporcionalidade nas valvas atrioventriculares: estudo anatômico dos segmentos valvares em indivíduos normais

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To describe the anatomical relationships that exist between the heart valve structures taking into account the segments of the fibrous annuli and the left ventricular volume METHOD: Digital photographs of 41 hearts from autopsies performed by a coroners office were analyzed. The photographs were processed using MATLAB® software, which supplies measurements of the valvar perimeter and area and the left ventricular volume. RESULTS: The average age of the corpses studied was 33 years old (standard deviation ± 17 years). Several ratios involving the tricuspid and mitral valves were tested, with strongly significant correlations found between the inter-commissural distance (ItD) and the perimeter of the anterior annulus (PA) of the tricuspid valve (r = 0.72; p-value < 0.05) and between the inter-commissural distance (ImD) and the perimeter of the posterior annulus (PP) of the mitral valve (r = 0.63; p-value < 0.05). The proportions between these parameters were PA/ItD = 1.36 ± 0.24 and PP/ImD = 1.38 ± 0.16. CONCLUSION: The proportions between the perimeter of the anterior annulus (tricuspid) and the perimeter of the posterior annulus (mitral) and their respective distances have high statistical significance and can be applied during surgery of valvar reconstruction.Objective: To describe the anatomical relationships that exist between the heart valve structures taking into consideration the segments of the fibrous annuli and the left ventricular volume Method: Digital photographs of 41 hearts from autopsies performed by a Coroner’s Office were analyzed. The photographs were processed using MATLAB® software, which supplies measurements of the valvar perimeter and area and the left ventricular volume. Results: The average age of the studied corpses was 33 years old (standard deviation ± 17 years). Several correlations involving the tricuspid and mitral valves were tested, with strongly significant correlations found between the intercommissural distance (ItD) and the perimeter of the anterior annulus (PA) of the tricuspid valve (r = 0.72; p-value < 0.05) and between the inter-commissural distance (ImD) and the perimeter of the posterior annulus (PP) of the mitral valve (r = 0.63; p-value < 0.05). The proportions between the parameters were PA/ItD = 1.36 ± 0.24 and PP/ImD = 1.38 ± 0.16. Conclusion: The proportions between the perimeter of the anterior annulus (tricuspid) and the perimeter of the posterior annulus (mitral) and their respective distances have high statistical significance and can be applied as part of surgical techniques of valvar reconstruction. Descriptors: Heart, anatomy & histology. Mitral valve. Tricuspid valve

Abstract P4-01-04: Immunohistochemical and histological features of mammographic dense and non-dense tissue in breast cancer patients

Objective: We investigated immunohistochemical and histological composition of dense and non-dense breast tissue in 18 women undergoing mastectomy as the initial treatment for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: In each mammogram, we localized the dense and the non-dense areas. We used a localization technique based on a linear approximation method with interpolation of mammogram images and breast pictures. The selected areas were retrieved during mastectomy and analyzed. Results: Estrogen and progesterone receptors, Ki-67 and CD-34, were equally expressed in both tissues, as well as the percentage composition of fat. The percentage compositions of brownish spots among dense and non-dense tissues were significantly different (p = 0.0226). The number of terminal ductal lobular units was higher for dense than for non-dense breast tissues (p = 0.0019). In the non-dense breast tissue, there were no proliferative lesions with atypia, while we found flat epithelial atypia in 3 of the dense areas evaluated. Proliferative lesions without atypia and non-proliferative lesions were found in both tissues, but they were more frequent in dense than in non-dense breast tissues (23.5% vs 11.8%, p = 0.0455, and 17.6% vs 2.9%, p = 0.0253, respectively). Fibrosis was more frequently extensive or moderate in dense tissue, while it was predominantly mild in non-dense tissue (p = 0.03). Conclusion: There was no difference in the expression of the estrogen and progesterone receptors, Ki-67 and CD-34, in the dense and non-dense tissue areas in breast-cancer women. In addition, both stroma fibrosis and epithelial proliferation were responsible for higher mammographic density. Citation Format: dos Santos CC, Marshall P, Torresan R, Tinois E, Duarte G, Teixeira S. Immunohistochemical and histological features of mammographic dense and non-dense tissue in breast cancer patients. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-01-04.