Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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Parturitional injuries refer to injuries sustained during and secondary to fetal delivery. The skull, brain, and head and neck regions are frequently involved. ⋯ In addition, a short discussion of the most common head and neck, facial, and spinal lesions is included. Various mimickers and risk factors are also presented.
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Case Reports
Low endogenous recanalization in embolic central retinal artery occlusion--the retrobulbar "spot sign".
Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is most often indirectly diagnosed by lack of retinal perfusion. Direct embolus characterization may help to understand the natural course and low response to treatment. In a previous study we identified a hyperechoic signal within the optic nerve and in the central retinal artery ("spot sign"). ⋯ The hyperechoic spot sign may be an important predictive prognostic marker for persistent loss of vision. Its persistence may indicate calcified or cholesterol emboli and may explain the low therapeutic success rate to thrombolysis. Further studies on their origin and significance in atherosclerotic disease are warranted.
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Hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) is an uncommon type of transneuronal degeneration. Case reports and case series described in the literature provide a foundation of our current knowledge of HOD. These reports have described HOD most frequently to be unilateral and occurring in association with lesions in the dentato-rubro-olivary pathway. Our purpose was to evaluate the rate of bilateral versus unilateral HOD in a large case series. ⋯ This study demonstrates that HOD is frequently bilateral. In slightly over 50% of patients with HOD, a lesion can be identified. In just under 50% patients with HOD, a lesion could not be identified and in these cases HOD was present bilaterally in the majority.
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Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) precedes both Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and with Lewy bodies (DLB). We investigated proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) characteristics of MCI patients who progressed to DLB compared to those who progressed to AD dementia or remained stable. ⋯ MRS may be useful in differentiating MCI patients with prodromal AD dementia from those with prodromal DLB for early disease-specific interventions.
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Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare neurodegenerative syndrome with visuospatial deficits. PET studies have identified hypometabolism of the occipital cortex in PCA. There is, however, a huge overlap in clinical presentation and involvement of the occipital cortex between PCA, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Syndrome-specific patterns of metabolism have not yet been demonstrated that allow for a reliable differentiation with [F-18]-FDG-PET. ⋯ [F-18]-FDG-PET could reveal syndrome-specific patterns of glucose metabolism in PCA and DLB. Accurate group discrimination in the differential diagnosis of dementia with visuospatial impairment is feasible.