Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Validation of FDG uptake in the arterial wall as an imaging biomarker of atherosclerotic plaques with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT).
From the literature, the prevalence of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in large artery atherosclerotic plaques shows great heterogeneity. We retrospectively reviewed 100 consecutive patients who underwent FDG-positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of their whole body, to evaluate FDG uptake in the arterial wall. ⋯ The prevalence of PET uptake in arterial walls in a consecutive population of asymptomatic patients is low and usually confined to one type of artery, and its clinical relevance in terms of vulnerability to ischemic events remains to be determined.
-
Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Trevo versus solitaire a head-to-head comparison between two heavy weights of clot retrieval.
Recent reports have indicated that mechanical thrombectomy may have potential to treat acute ischemic stroke. However, few comparative studies of neurothrombectomy devices are reported. This study aims to compare the safety and effectiveness of two retrievable stent systems in acute ischemic stroke patients. ⋯ Our study showed no significant differences between both stentrievers. Moderately high recanalization rates are possible with both, however larger series may depict safety-related variations.
-
Although transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the gold standard for right to left shunt detection, we observed that transcranial Doppler (TCD) was more sensitive and sought an explanation. ⋯ TEEs and TCDs are operator dependent and thus subject to false negatives. The lower yield and interoperator variability in TEE results appear to reflect the lack of performance protocols and engender concern about false negatives in community use. Consensus performance protocols and certification criteria for both modalities should have an impact on accuracy of shunt detection.
-
Integration of functional connectivity analysis based on resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and structural connectivity analysis based on Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) has shown great potential to improve understanding of the neural networks in the human brain. However, there are sensitivity and specificity-related interpretation issues that must be addressed. ⋯ This fMRI/DWI integration study suggests that functional connectivity analysis might be a more sensitive and robust approach in understanding the connectivity between cortical regions, and can be used to improve DWI-based structural connectivity analysis.
-
Comparative Study
Evaluating of small intracranial aneurysms by 64-detector CT Angiography: a comparison with 3-dimensional rotation DSA or surgical findings.
The diagnostic performance of 64-detector computed tomographic angiography (CTA) for detection of small intracranial aneurysms (SIAs) was evaluated. ⋯ The diagnostic performance of 64-detector CTA did not improve much compared with 16-detector CTA for detecting SIAs, especially for very small aneurysms. VR-RDSA is still necessary for patients with a history of subarachnoid hemorrhage if the CTA findings are negative.