Salomao, Marcela A

AbstractTranscatheter embolization is a minimally invasive procedure that uses embolic agents to intentionally block diseased or injured blood vessels for therapeutic purposes. Embolic agents in clinical practice are limited by recanalization, risk of non‐target embolization, failure in coagulopathic patients, high cost, and toxicity. Here, a decellularized cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM)‐based nanocomposite hydrogel is developed to provide superior mechanical stability, catheter injectability, retrievability, antibacterial properties, and biological activity to prevent recanalization. The embolic efficacy of the shear‐thinning ECM‐based hydrogel is shown in a porcine survival model of embolization in the iliac artery and the renal artery. The ECM‐based hydrogel promotes arterial vessel wall remodeling and a fibroinflammatory response while undergoing significant biodegradation such that only 25% of the embolic material remains at 14 days. With its unprecedented proregenerative, antibacterial properties coupled with favorable mechanical properties, and its superior performance in anticoagulated blood, the ECM‐based hydrogel has the potential to be a next‐generation biofunctional embolic agent that can successfully treat a wide range of vascular diseases.

Abstract We report a case of an adult male patient with multifocal urinary bladder paragangliomas, which were negative on 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scan, but positive on 123I-MIBG SPECT/CT scan. While the 68Ga-DOTA analog PET/CT exhibits superior performance in diagnosis and staging of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, our case demonstrates negative somatostatin receptor expression in this rare entity and indicates that 123I-MIBG SPECT/CT still plays a vital role in characterization of bladder paraganglioma.