Perfusion Imaging During NO Inhalation Identifies Patients With PAH
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that differences in pulmonary perfusion images acquired at baseline versus those acquired during vasodilation can distinguish between healthy...
Mass General Advances in MotionMy new editorial about #airway #remodeling in #asthma is finally out. A surprising and fascinating aspect of #ComplexSystems behavior is that multiple mechanisms can be involved in shifting a #TippingPoint. In asthma, there are several distinct mechanisms of airway remodeling, but they converge in a combined effect of shifting the tipping point for severe asthma attacks: https://doi.org/jq7c https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/104046/html
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Mechanisms of airway remodeling converge at the critical point of bronchoconstriction in asthma
Mechanisms of airway remodeling converge at the critical point of bronchoconstriction in asthma
Very exicted to share that our #PET #imaging paper in #PulmonaryHypertension #PAH is out: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-022-02239-8
Many thanks to our great team at @[email protected] @[email protected]
CONCLUSIONS: Perfusion imaging during O2 + iNO showed a significant difference in the heterogeneity associated with the vertical gradient in perfusion, distinguishing in this small cohort study PAH subjects from controls.
#lung #respiratory #research #pulmonary #perfusion #circulation #PETCT #PIBLabs



Perfusion imaging heterogeneity during NO inhalation distinguishes pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) from healthy subjects and has potential as an imaging biomarker - Respiratory Research
Background Without aggressive treatment, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has a 5-year mortality of approximately 40%. A patient’s response to vasodilators at diagnosis impacts the therapeutic options and prognosis. We hypothesized that analyzing perfusion images acquired before and during vasodilation could identify characteristic differences between PAH and control subjects. Methods We studied 5 controls and 4 subjects with PAH using HRCT and 13NN PET imaging of pulmonary perfusion and ventilation. The total spatial heterogeneity of perfusion (CV2Qtotal) and its components in the vertical (CV2Qvgrad) and cranio-caudal (CV2Qzgrad) directions, and the residual heterogeneity (CV2Qr), were assessed at baseline and while breathing oxygen and nitric oxide (O2 + iNO). The length scale spectrum of CV2Qr was determined from 10 to 110 mm, and the response of regional perfusion to O2 + iNO was calculated as the mean of absolute differences. Vertical gradients in perfusion (Qvgrad) were derived from perfusion images, and ventilation-perfusion distributions from images of 13NN washout kinetics. Results O2 + iNO significantly enhanced perfusion distribution differences between PAH and controls, allowing differentiation of PAH subjects from controls. During O2 + iNO, CV2Qvgrad was significantly higher in controls than in PAH (0.08 (0.055–0.10) vs. 6.7 × 10–3 (2 × 10–4–0.02), p < 0.001) with a considerable gap between groups. Qvgrad and CV2Qtotal showed smaller differences: − 7.3 vs. − 2.5, p = 0.002, and 0.12 vs. 0.06, p = 0.01. CV2Qvgrad had the largest effect size among the primary parameters during O2 + iNO. CV2Qr, and its length scale spectrum were similar in PAH and controls. Ventilation-perfusion distributions showed a trend towards a difference between PAH and controls at baseline, but it was not statistically significant. Conclusions Perfusion imaging during O2 + iNO showed a significant difference in the heterogeneity associated with the vertical gradient in perfusion, distinguishing in this small cohort study PAH subjects from controls.
BioMed Central