Preliminary Study of Brain Glucose Metabolism Changes in Patients with Lung Cancer of Different Histological Types

Background： Cerebral glucose metabolism changes are always observed in patients suffering from malignant tumors. This preliminary study aimed to investigate the brain glucose metabolism changes in patients with lung cancer of different histological types. Methods： One hundred and twenty patients with primary untreated lung cancer, who visited People＇s Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2012 to July 2013, were divided into three groups based on histological types confirmed by biopsy or surgical pathology, which included adenocarcinoma （52 cases）, squamous cell carcinoma （43 cases）, and small-cell carcinoma （25 cases）. The whole body ^18F-fiuorodeoxyglucose （^18F-FDG） positron emission tomography （PET）/computed tomography （CT） of these cases was retrospectively studied. The brain PET data of three groups were analyzed individually using statistical parametric maps （SPM） software, with 50 age-matched and gender-matched healthy controls for comparison. Results： The brain resting glucose metabolism in all three lung cancer groups showed regional cerebral metabolic reduction. The hypo-metabolic cerebral regions were mainly distributed at the left superior and middle frontal, bilateral superior and middle temporal and inferior and middle temporal gyrus. Besides, the hypo-metabolic regions were also found in the right inferior parietal lobule and hippocampus in the small-cell carcinoma group. The area of the total hypo-metabolic cerebral regions in the small-cell carcinoma group （total voxel value 3255） was larger than those in the adenocarcinoma group （total voxel value 1217） and squamous cell carcinoma group （total voxel value 1292）. Conclusions： The brain resting glucose metabolism in patients with lung cancer shows regional cerebral metabolic reduction and the brain hypo-metabolic changes are related to the histological types of lung cancer.

Effect of mild hypothermia on glucose metabolism and glycerol of brain tissue in patients with severe traumatic brain injury

To study the effect of mild hypothermia on glucose metabolism and glycerol of brain tissue in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).Methods All 33 patients with sTBI(GCS≤8) were randomly divided into hypothermic group and control group.Microdialysis catheters were inserted into the cerebral cortex of perilesion,relative normal brain tissue and subcutaneous tissue of abdomen in order to analyze the concentrations of lactate/pyruvate (L/P),lactate/glucose (L/G) and the glycerol(Gly) in extracellular fluid (ECF).Results In comparison with the control group,the concentration of L/G,L/P and Gly in periphery and that of L/P in ECF of the “normal brain tissue” were significantly decreased in the hypothermic group.In control group,concentration of L/G,L/P and Gly in periphery were higher than those in relative normal brain.In the hypothermic group,L/P concentration in periphery was higher than that in relative normal brain.Conclusion Mild hypothermia protects brain by decreasing concentrations of L/G,L/P and Gly in periphery and L/P concentration in “normal brain tissue”.The energy crisis and membrane phospholipid breakage in periphery are easier to happen after TBI,where mild hypothermia exerts significant protgective role.12 refs,3 tabs.

The Association between Cellular Phone Usage and Brain Neoplasms

Background: The association between cellular phones and brain tumors is a question that is frequently asked of the medical and scientific community. The prevalence of cell phone use and the significant morbidity and mortality of brain tumors contribute to this pairing. Cell phones are known to emit radio frequency energy in the form of both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is known to be within X-rays, which do have an association with cancer. Objective: To assess if the use of the cell phone has an association with brain tumors. Methods: The searches performed through PubMed were conducted to find studies that sought to provide evidence as to whether or not increased cell phone exposure contributed to the development of brain tumors. Also searched for was increased regional metabolism of the brain with the use of the cell phone switched in the on position. Studies were restricted to being published during or after the year 2000 and presented in the English language. Results: The studies largely support the conclusion that cell phone usage does not lead to the development of brain cancer. Studies employed different strategies, such as the prospective cohort and case-control studies to reach this conclusion. Both studies failed to show statistically significant evidence that cell phones were associated with brain tumors of the central nervous system. Conclusions: Questions raised by crossover studies demonstrating increased regional brain glucose metabolism continue to remain largely unanswered by current research and remain a starting point for future research. The prevalence of the issue strengthens its position among others as a matter that the medical community must continue to address to meet the needs of an increasingly exposed patient population. The overall hypothesis that cell phone usage does not lead to the development of brain tumors was supported.