József Varga

University of Debrecen · Department of Medical Imaging, Division of Nuclear Medicine

Objective: Dedicated multi-pinhole (MPH) collimators have been successfully tested in selected clinical investigations. The aim of our work was to report initial experiences with an MPH collimator set designed for brain perfusion single photon emission tomography (SPECT). Subjects and methods: Ten patients underwent sequential technetium-99m-hex...

Background Comparison of the performance of a conventional, Anger-system, general-purpose SPECT/CT (AnyScan SC FLEX) vs. an Anger-system dedicated cardiac SPECT (CardioC) camera for gated myocardial perfusion imaging. Method Fifty patients were enrolled into the study. Of these, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy with 450 MBq SestaMIBI (Mediradioph...

Overlap myositis is a distinct subgroup of idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM) with various clinical phenotypes. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical, serological, and genetic features of systemic sclerosis (SSc)-IIM overlap patients. It was a retrospective study using clinical database of 39 patients, fulfilling both the criteria...

Background Sensitive imaging modalities in the diagnosis of microcircular complications of the lower extremities induced by metabolic diseases are becoming a focus of interest. Purpose To investigate the [ 99m Tc]HMPAO uptake of the legs in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, and to search for associations with clinical parameters and ner...

Since hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHcys) is implicated as a risk factor for the development of neurodegeneration, and is associated with the development of metabolic diseases,we aimed at analysing the effect of homocysteine (Hcys) on regional fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) brain metabolismin 51 controlled type 2 diabetic and in 48 non-DM obese...

Background: Metabolic syndrome and its individual components lead to wide-ranging consequences, many of which affect the central nervous system. In this study, we compared the [18F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals. Methods: In our prospective study, 51 patients...

Background: Cerebral blood flow abnormalities are supposed to be potential risk factors for developing cognitive dysfunction in the general population. Aging, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with perfusion abnormalities leading to cognitive impairment, neurodegeneration and future development of dementia. In our study, we aimed...

Background: Metabolic syndrome and its individual components lead to wide-ranging consequences, many of which affect the central nervous system. In this study, we compared the [¹⁸F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals. Methods: In our prospective study 51 patients wit...

Background: The prevalence of osteoporosis and risk of fractures is elevated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but we have limited information about the bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risk in patients with inflammatory myopathies. We intended to ascertain and compare fracture risk, bone mineral density and the prevalence of vertebral fracture...

Introduction: Dynamic inhalation scintigraphy (DIS) with technetium-99m-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetate aerosol is a useful nuclear medicine procedure for staging and monitoring the damage of alveolocapillary membrane. The e-cigarette is a new popular smoking device producing vapor from the nicotine solution. Many studies have shown that e-cigaret...

The aim of this study was to analyze the reliability of texture index (TI) calculations using two different approaches. First, we calculated texture parameters on synthetically constructed images using four different biomedical software tools (CGITA, InterView Fusion, Matlab, MaZda). Second, we investigated the reliability of texture parameters, pa...

BMD changes in patients under tight control (monitored at 3-month intervals with adjustment of therapy guided by bone turnover markers) and routine management (controlled once a year) were compared. After 1 year, the femoral neck BMD increased significantly in the tight control compared to the routine management group. Introduction We intended to...

Nuclear medicine applies unsealed radioactive preparations for medical purposes. For imaging, a trace amount of a radiopharmaceutical is administered to the patient. Through the detection of the emitted electromagnetic radiation, we obtain maps of distribution of pharmaceuticals, which reflect the function of organs. The most important device is th...

The pathogenesis of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is not completely understood. Coexistent hyperfunction of the thyroid gland is frequent; however, GO may also coexist with hypo- or euthyrodism. The course of GO is largely independent of thyroid function, although elevated serum TSH is known to negatively interfere with GO course. GO is severe in 10 % o...

Objectives: FDG PET-CT is a global, noninvasive, sensitive method to determine the location and activity of inflammatory lesions. Segmental FDG uptake is proportional with immune cell infiltration of bowel. Our aim was to evaluate prospectively the role of PET in patients with active Crohn’s disease (CD) before and after one year’s biological thera...

Objective: To find structural differences between brain metastases of lung and breast cancer, computing their heterogeneity parameters by means of both 2D and 3D texture analysis (TA). Materials and methods: Patients with 58 brain metastases from breast (26) and lung cancer (32) were examined by MR imaging. Brain lesions were manually delineated...

Background: ECG-gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging is usually acquired in supine position. However, some patients are not comfortable in this position for a variety of personal or medical reasons. Our aim was to investigate the effect of patient positioning on quantitative SPECT imaging results using normal supine database. Methods: 55 pat...

Background: Partial or subtotal spleen resection or spleen autotransplantation can partly preserve/restore the splenic filtration function, as previous studies demonstrated. Objective: For better evaluation and follow-up of the various spleen-preserving operative techniques' effectiveness versus splenectomy, a composite methodological approach w...

Textural analysis might give new insights into the quantitative characterization of metabolically active tumors. More than thirty textural parameters have been investigated in former F18-FDG studies already. The purpose of the paper is to declare basic requirements as a selection strategy to identify the most appropriate heterogeneity parameters to...

Volume dependence of all investigated HePs. (PDF)

The real value of the four finally suggested HePs as the function of reconstruction settings (see in Table 1) and acquisition time. (TIF)

In this case report, we present the endodontic treatment and microsurgical intervention of dens invaginatus affecting a lateral incisor using cone-beam-computed tomography (CBCT). A 26-year-old woman visited us with a diagnosis of acute apical periodontitis in the upper right lateral incisor (tooth 12). Endodontic treatment of the tooth was carried...

Background: There are conflicting data on the occurrence of subclinical myocardial dysfunction in psoriatic patients and on the impact of long-term tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor therapy on cardiac function. Objective: In this study, we explored whether there are any signs of subclinical cardiovascular disease (echocardiographic...

Limited data are available on the vitamin D3 status and bone mineral density (BMD) of patients with psoriasis or with psoriatic arthritis. Our study intended to explore possible correlations between vitamin D status and BMD, as well as among these parameters and the features of the underlying disorder. Seventy-two patients with psoriasis/or psoriat...

The aim of the study is to review the new tomographic imaging technologies which enable to investigate the metabolic activity of the human body. Accordingly, we overview the current promising methodology in the field of PET and SPECT, but we will also mention interesting applications at the area of MRI and CT.

Deriving quantitative measures from the medical imaging methods is a key issue for the optimal oncologic therapy, when the anatomical abnormalities and changes of the metabolic state of the tissues need to be characterized. In order to improve the effectiveness of the therapy, the results of medical imaging procedures should be comparable after two...

Background Though sustaining burn injury requiring hospital admission is not too common, there are patients who happen to return to the burn unit with a new injury. Our aim was to characterise the repeatedly burned patients and their cases. The question was whether we can detect an objective reason for this higher susceptibility for burn injuries....

The objective of this study was to find the correlation between the severity of perfusion abnormality detected by scintigraphy and the FFR value, as well as the localization of a particular coronary lesion. On the basis of FFR values and the corresponding left ventricular segments, we proposed a combined index to aim for better correlation with myo...

Objective To compare the performance of anti-granulocyte scintigraphy with those of widely used prognostic indices (such as DAS28, anti-CCP, early MRI imaging). Methods Twenty-five patients with early arthritis were enrolled into the study. Following the review of clinical data and the evaluation of disease activity, we performed MRI imaging of th...

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) polymorphism on the efficacy of cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe monotherapy on lipid parameters. Methods: 63 hyperlipidemic patients with statin induced adverse effects were involved in the study. We examined the effect of 10 mg/day ezetimibe treatme...

Unlabelled: Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), a multiple congenital anomaly with severe mental retardation, is caused by decreased activity of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase. Fifteen Hungarian patients were diagnosed with SLOS on the basis of clinical symptoms, serum cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, and molecular genetic testing. Their age at t...

Background The aim of the present study was to assess whether the efficacy of bisphosphonate treatment is influenced by PTH levels measured in newly diagnosed osteoporotic patients and to identify the threshold value, beyond which PTH level negatively influences therapeutic efficacy. Methods One hundred and thirty-eight osteoporotic patients were...

Objective: In Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), there is a demand to differentiate the immunologically active disease state, when immunosuppressive therapy is necessary, from the inactive state, when the patient would not benefit from it. We measured the inflammatory activity in the retrobulbar region using Tc-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA...

Epiphora, an abnormal overflow of tears, is commonly caused by tear drainage system anomalies including nasolacrimal duct obstruction. To assess morphologic abnormalities, dacryocystography by CT is used when CT contrast material is syringed into the lacrimal drainage system. To evaluate the function of the system, dacryoscintigraphy is the most re...

To examine the possible late complications of splenectomy or spleen autotransplantation in large laboratory animal model, in which we need non-invasive or minimal-invasive methods for long-term monitoring of the experimental animals. Experimental groups of beagle dogs were: non-operated control, sham-operated control, splenectomy, spleen autotransp...

Proper preoperative staging is vital in the treatment of breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to assess the value of the diagnostic information provided by PET/CT in surgical practice in breast cancer cases considered early-stage by conventional diagnostic modalities. Whole-body 18-FDG PET/CT was performed on 115 breast cancer patients...

Unlabelled: Troponin is the first choice in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Correct interpretation is challenging, because high sensitive troponin tests used today detect even the smallest cardiac damage. Methods: High sensitive troponin T (Roche) and troponin I (Mitsubishi Pathfast) and creatine-kinase activity were measured in 20...

Mycophenolic acid (MPA), a selective inhibitor of lymphocyte proliferation, has lately been used to improve renal function and prolong graft survival in renal transplanted patients. Still, there is no consensus considering the recommended dosing and the therapeutic range of MPA. To estimate the safe therapeutic range of MPA, its plasma level and in...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the changing parametres of the straight and curved root canal morphologies after ProTaper rotary enlargement technique utilising micro-computed tomography (MCT) for this purpose. Methods: Extracted incisors and canines with straight and curved root canals were scanned before and after shaping the...

150 Balb/c inbred egéren és 24 beagle kutyán végzett műtétek és komplex -immunologiai, haematologiai, haemostaseologiai, haemorheologiai, immunhistologiai- utánkövetéses vizsgálatok során elemeztük a lép autotransplantatio hatékonyságát. A lép autotransplantatumok filtrációs funkció megőrző szerepét jelző értékű vizsgálatokkal - vörösvérsejt deform...

Although macrovascular complications are typical for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cerebral microvascular damage develops both in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and T2DM. Color Doppler ultrasound is widely used for the examination of large- and medium-sized arteries, whereas SPECT and MRI are capable of identifying disturbances in the circulati...

Background: The epicardial coronary segmentations have not established the relation between the epicardial branches and the supplied myocardial segments Methods: The coronary angiograms of 37 patients were analyzed by a computer program called Holistic Coronary Care. Results: The analysis of the coronary angiograms showed that out of the 17 left ve...

In Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), only patients with immunologically active disease respond to immunosuppressive therapy. Previous studies and theoretical considerations suggest that elevated orbital (99m)Tc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic-acid (DTPA) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) reflects inflammatory disease activity. We studied...

This study intended to determine whether the replacement of vitamin D3 with alfacalcidol results in any bone mineral density (BMD) increase in 76 patients unresponsive to the combination of alendronate and conventional vitamin D3 treatment. In these patients the conventional vitamin D3 had been replaced with alfacalcidol (0.5 μg/day), and then the...

Data about biochemical abnormalities (catecholamines) during vasovagal syncope (VVS) are available, but adrenergic myocardial structural damage may be hypothesized as well. To study the global and regional adrenergic myocardial innervations in patients with VVS that was shown by head-up tilt table testing. Fifteen adult patients with VVS were studi...

The positron emission tomography (PET) imaging technique enables the measurement of receptor distribution or neurotransmitter release in the living brain and the changes of the distribution with time and thus allows quantification of binding sites as well as the affinity of a radioligand. However, quantification of receptor binding studies obtained...

Balneotherapy is an established treatment modality for musculoskeletal disease, but few studies have examined the efficacy of spa therapy in elderly patients with degenerative spine and joint diseases. To assess the effects of balneotherapy on chronic musculoskeletal pain, functional capacity, and quality of life in elderly patients with osteoarthr...

Background: Recently several estimated GFR (eGFR) formulae have been developed and new creatinine methods were introduced to compensate for the effect of “pseudocreatinines”. These methods resulted in lower creatinine and higher eGFRs. Methods: Original 6-v MDRD (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease), 4-v MDRD, Cockcroft-Gault (C-G), Quadratic and...

Polar map display (PM) is a comprehensive interpretation of the left ventricle. This is a non-rigid registration of the left ventricle originally for the visual and quantitative analysis of tomographic myocardial perfusion scintigrams. In this scheme the maximal-count circumferential profiles of well-defined short- and long-axis planes are plotted...

Primary Raynaud's disease is generally a disease of younger females; however, there are cases where symptoms present over the age of 40. These cases are described as late onset. In our current prospective study we compared the characteristics of early and late onset types of primary Raynaud's in 127 patients. In addition to the collection of medica...

The Allen test is used worldwide for radial artery graft removal. The postoperative examination of our patients' hand function and circulation proved that beside the transient neurological complications chronic hand circulatory disorders may arise. To develop a non-invasive method suitable for an objective evaluation of the hand's circulation to ma...

To assess the prevalence of suicidal behavior (wish to die, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts) and to determine the characteristics of suicide attempters in primary care, including screening for major mental disorders. A Hungarian urban general practitioner's district with 1248 inhabitants was screened for suicidal behavior as well as for major m...

To look for the frequency of oesophageal dysfunction using radionuclide oesophageal transit scintigraphy in 145 patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD); to seek the correlation between the clinical/laboratory data and scintigraphic alterations; and to determine predictive value of radionuclide oesophageal transit scintigraph...

The immunosuppressive treatment of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) influences the course of the disease in the early, active, retrobulbar inflammatory phase (active GO), which cannot be detected by direct clinical examination. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a newly developed method for the detection of intraorbital inflammatory activity in pati...

The pharmacological effects of the neuroprotective drug vinpocetine, administered intravenously in a 14-day long treatment regime, on the cerebral blood flow and cerebral glucose metabolism in chronic ischemic stroke patients (n=13) were studied with positron emission tomography in a double-blind design. The regional and global cerebral metabolic r...

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effect of smoking history on soft tissue expansion in specific orbital compartments in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. The volumes of the rectus muscles, intra and extraorbital connective, and soft tissues were measured in 110 orbits of 35 patients and 20 control subjects. Data sets from curr...

We investigated the circulatory characteristics of patients suffering of primary and secondary Raynaud's syndrome. We examined 106 patients presenting with the classical symptoms of Raynaud's syndrom (47 primary, 59 secondary) by hand perfusion scintigraphy developed by our Department of Nuclear Medicine. After visual evaluation we analyzed the ima...

Aim: We investigated the circulatory characteristics of patients suffering of primary and secondary Raynaud’s syndrome. Patients, methods: We examined 106 patients presenting with the classical symptoms of Raynaud’s syndrom (47 primary, 59 secondary) by hand perfusion scintigraphy developed by our Department of Nuclear Medicine. After visual evalua...

Objective: 99mTc-MIBI SPECT is a widely used myocardial perfusion investigation technique, but few data are available concerning its use to assess the morphological characteristics of a left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) before and after LVA resection. Methods and results: Pre- and postoperative rest 99mTc-MIBI SPECT images were analysed in order t...

99mTc-MIBI SPECT is a widely used myocardial perfusion investigation technique, but few data are available concerning its use to assess the morphological characteristics of a left ventricular aneurysm (LVA) before and after LVA resection. Pre- and postoperative rest 99mTc-MIBI SPECT images were analysed in order to characterize the features of LVAs...

Linear/multilinear regression methods are widely used in quantitative neuroreceptor positron emission tomography. A reference tissue method based on a bi-linear operational equation, the bi-linear reference tissue method, has been introduced in order to overcome the need for arterial blood sampling. The aim of the present paper was to investigate t...

Our purpose was to investigate the serotonin transporter (SERT) in various brain regions of alcoholics using positron emission tomography and C-11 McN5652. Thirty-two adult subjects were involved, 17 social drinkers as control subjects and 15 subjects who were abstinent or recovering alcoholics. Concomitant psychiatric diseases were ruled out based...

Quantification of receptor binding studies obtained with PET is complicated by tissue heterogeneity in the sampling image elements pixels and voxels. This effect is caused by a limited spatial resolution of the PET scanner. On the other hand, spatial heterogeneity is often essential in understanding the underlying receptor binding process. In this...

Serum N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG; EC 3.2.1.30) is a hexosaminidase and may be a predictor of vascular injury, e.g., in infant respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia and necrotizing enterocolitis. To estimate the new diagnostic prospects we have modified our urinary NAG assay. In this sensitive colorimetric m...