Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acute Metabolic Changes Associated With Analgesic Drugs: An MR Spectroscopy Study.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is used to measure brain metabolites. Limited data exist on the analgesic-induced spectroscopy response. This was an explorative study with the aims to investigate the central effects of two analgesic drugs, an opioid and a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and to explore the association between metabolite changes and the analgesic effect and side effects. ⋯ MRS can be used to detect brain metabolites following acute analgesic treatments and glutamate is central in these mechanisms. Consequently, MRS might be a valuable tool to objectively evaluate analgesic effects and a potential biomarker to predict treatment outcomes and more research is needed.
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Developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) are the most common cerebral vascular malformations and are usually found incidentally on neuroimaging studies. Despite the benign nature of DVAs, occasionally, they can be symptomatic. The objective of this article is to review the spectrum of imaging findings of DVAs on conventional and advanced imaging studies. In addition, neuroimaging findings of symptomatic DVAs as well as imaging mimicks will also be described to assist in the approach to differential diagnosis.
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Comparative Study
Ultrafast Brain MRI: Clinical Deployment and Comparison to Conventional Brain MRI at 3T.
To compare an ultrafast brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol to the conventional protocol in motion-prone inpatient clinical settings. ⋯ The ultrafast protocol achieved at least comparable image quality and high diagnostic concordance compared to the conventional protocol. This fast protocol can be a viable option to replace the conventional protocol in motion-prone inpatient clinical settings.
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A pseudoatrophy effect, mostly affecting white matter, can be observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) early on natalizumab therapy. We aimed to investigate whether a similar pattern could be found after interferon-beta treatment onset. ⋯ Concurrent inflammation has an impact on brain volume measurements (especially white matter) during the first year of interferon-beta therapy, and should be taken into account when interpreting early brain volume changes on therapy.
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Review Meta Analysis
White Matter Diffusion Abnormalities in Carotid Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Abnormalities in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) values can be used to assess microstructural damage to white matter tracts and could represent a quantitative marker of chronic ischemia and thereby potentially serve as a stroke risk factor or a measure of existing subclinical ischemic disease burden. We performed a systematic review and 3 separate meta-analyses to evaluate the association between unilateral carotid steno-occlusion and ipsilateral ADC, FA, or MD abnormality. ⋯ Carotid artery disease is associated with significant ADC and FA value changes, suggesting that carotid disease is associated with quantifiable white matter microstructural damage.