Acta radiologica
-
Percutaneous vertebroplasty is emerging as one of the most promising new interventional procedures for relieving (or reducing) painful vertebra, with the injection of surgical polymethylmethacrylate or cement into vertebral bodies. This imaged-guided technique, originally used to treat vertebral hemangioma, has recently been extended to the treatment of metastases, osteoporotic compression fractures, and vertebral myeloma. It is increasingly being accepted as a main treatment of choice in the management of resistant back pain due to vertebral compression fractures, especially in the elderly individual who is not a candidate for surgery. In this article, we review indications, contraindications, technique, and complications of percutaneous vertebroplasty.
-
Clinical Trial
Percutaneous vertebroplasty for compression fracture: analysis of vertebral body volume by CT volumetry.
To evaluate the relationships between volume of vertebral bodies with compression fracture (measured by CT volumetry) before percutaneous vertebroplasty, the amount of bone cement injected, and the effect of treatment. ⋯ In percutaneous vertebroplasty for vertebral body compression fracture, there is a positive correlation between vertebral body volume and amount of bone cement, but improvement in VAS does not correlate with vertebral body volume or amount of bone cement.
-
Using flexion/extension magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a dedicated positioning device, our purpose was to analyze pathologic cranio-vertebral joint anatomy and motion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in comparison to normal patients, and to compare flexion/extension MRI with conventional radiographs (CRs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. ⋯ Evaluation of the rheumatoid cervical spine is optimized using MR images in the neutral, flexed, and extended positions. Measurements and relationships between structures should be compared in all positions. CRs with flexion-extension views are recommended as the first imaging method.
-
Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is an inborn disorder of amino acid metabolism, often presenting with neurological symptoms. We present the results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the brain in a 16-month-old male patient with classic neurological and laboratory findings for MMA. MRI demonstrated the hyperintensity within globi pallidi both on T2-weighted image and DWI during the acute episode of metabolic acidosis.
-
A case of multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia (MMPH) associated with tuberous sclerosis is reported. MMPH is a rare pulmonary disorder characterized by the nodular proliferation of type II pneumocytes. In the case presented here, MMPH appeared as multiple, well-defined small nodules with ground-glass opacity. It is necessary to consider MMPH when small nodules with ground-glass opacity are observed on HRCT in patients with tuberous sclerosis.