Topics in magnetic resonance imaging : TMRI
-
Top Magn Reson Imaging · Feb 2014
Magnetic resonance imaging for pulmonary hypertension: methods, applications, and outcomes.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a potentially life-threatening disease. Clinical classification of PH has undergone multiple modifications and was last updated in 2008. ⋯ Treatment response assessment and monitoring are focused on the functional evaluation of the right ventricle, and magnetic resonance imaging is the noninvasive test of choice as its accuracy and reproducibility are superior to echocardiography. In this article, we discuss our PH evaluation magnetic resonance imaging protocol, which has been customized to provide clinicians with the information needed to assess right-sided heart functional status and determine response to treatment or disease progression.
-
Dandy-Walker malformation (DWM) is the most common human cerebellar malformation, characterized by hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis, cystic dilation of the fourth ventricle, and an enlarged posterior fossa with upward displacement of the lateral sinuses, tentorium, and torcular. Although its pathogenesis is not completely understood, there are several genetic loci related to DWM as well as syndromic malformations and congenital infections. Dandy-Walker malformation is associated with other central nervous system abnormalities, including dysgenesis of corpus callosum, ectopic brain tissue, holoprosencephaly, and neural tube defects. ⋯ Retrocerebellar arachnoid cysts frequently compress the cerebellar hemispheres and the fourth ventricle. Patients with DWM show an enlarged posterior fossa filled with a cystic structure that communicates freely with the fourth ventricle and hypoplastic vermis. Comprehension of hindbrain embryology is of utmost importance for understanding the cerebellar malformations, including DWM, and other related entities.
-
Top Magn Reson Imaging · Oct 2011
ReviewIdiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system in children.
Idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system usually present with a typical morphologic pattern in adults, with multiple sclerosis as the predominant disorder. However, the variety of disorders in children has an odd range of features that have piqued the interest of researchers. ⋯ In this article, we provide an overview of the applicability of imaging for idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system in children. In addition to pediatric multiple sclerosis, this review addresses other related disorders, such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, pediatric neuromyelitis optica, recurrent optic neuritis, and relapsing transverse myelitis.
-
Top Magn Reson Imaging · Oct 2011
ReviewAdvanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques in the evaluation of pediatric white matter diseases.
This article aimed to describe the technical principles and clinical application of advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques for the assessment of white matter diseases. The following techniques are going to be discussed: magnetization transfer, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion-weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, as well as perfusion and postprocessing techniques such as tract-based spatial statistics. These techniques allow a better understanding of the physiopathology of the white matter diseases as well as have a significant impact on the definition of the differential diagnosis and treatment options.