Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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The evaluation of a suspected malfunction of a ventricular shunt is a common procedure in neurosurgery. The evaluation relies on either the interpretation of the ventricular width using cranial imaging or invasive techniques. Several attempts have been made to measure the flow velocity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) utilizing different phase-contrast magnet resonance imaging (PC MRI) techniques. In the present study, we evaluated 3 T (Tesla) MRI scanners for their effectiveness in determining of flow in the parenchymal portion of ventricular shunt systems with adjustable valves containing magnets. ⋯ CSF flow detected within the parenchymal portion of the shunt by PC MRI may reliably provide information about the functional status of a ventricular shunt. Even in patients whose hydrocephalus was treated with magnetic adjustable valves, the CSF flow was detectable using PC MRI sequences at 3 T field strength.
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The brainstem plays a key role in the control of respiration. Strokes involving the lateral medulla can rarely produce a central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) characterized by loss of automatic respiration called Ondine's curse. In this study, we investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of CHS in patients with lateral medullary infarction (LMI). ⋯ In patients with LMI, disruption of the respiratory control network, at the level of ventro-lateral region of the rostral medulla, could result in CHS.
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Patients with acute ischemic stroke receive computed tomography angiogram (CTA) and digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) for clinical evaluation. Current guidelines lack in defining indications for transcranial Doppler (TCD) and/or carotid duplex ultrasonography (CUS) in acute stroke evaluation or follow-up cerebrovascular imaging after reperfusion. We investigated the clinical utility of performing additional TCD/CUS after reperfusion in guiding postacute care stroke management. ⋯ Our experience shows that TCD/CUS may offer additional diagnostic information assisting postacute care management in small subset of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Larger studies are needed to research the clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of additional imaging and inform clinical guidelines for selecting patients who will benefit from these additional studies.
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To detect brain morphological alterations in patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD) by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) morphometry under radiological diagnostic conditions. ⋯ Brain morphological alterations in early PD patients are evident despite of their inconspicuous findings in standard MRI. Quantitative morphological measurements with CAT12 may be an applicable add-on tool for clinical diagnosis of early PD. These results have to be verified in future studies with larger patient samples.
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Meningeal inflammation is implicated in cortical demyelination and disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced 3-dimensional (3D) FLAIR (fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can identify leptomeningeal enhancement (LME) in MS. Further characterization is needed to determine if LME is an imaging biomarker for meningeal inflammation. We sought to characterize the natural history of LME in the community setting, including persistence/resolution, effect of disease-modifying therapy, scanner variability, timing of acquisition, and imaging pitfalls that may lead to misinterpretation. ⋯ Awareness of LME characteristics, variability with imaging parameters, and imaging pitfalls will facilitate determining the potential role as an imaging biomarker for meningeal inflammation.