Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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To determine the interobserver reliability of a newly proposed classification scheme for angiographic classification of spinal vascular malformations including arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). ⋯ The new classification scheme provided satisfactory reliability even in the hands of less experienced observers. The scheme can be used with minimal training and other concurrent data and can be relied upon to provide consistent results.
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Case Reports
Cortical activation changes in patients suffering from post-stroke arm spasticity and treated with botulinum toxin a.
Botulinum toxin (BoNT) treatment relieves focal arm spasticity after stroke, likely acting at several hierarchical levels of the motor system. The central correlate of BoNT-induced spasticity relief may be detected using repeated functional MRI (fMRI) during motor task. ⋯ Relief of post-stroke arm spasticity may be associated with changes at several hierarchical levels of the cortical sensorimotor system, including the prefrontal cortex.
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Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) quantifies the motion of water within brain tissue. Inflammation leads to tissue disruption, resulting in increased diffusivity and decreased directionality. We aimed to quantify the damage within tumefactive giant brain lesions (TGL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) using MRI and DTI methodology. ⋯ Within the spectrum of acute MS lesions, TGL present DTI metrics of an intense acute inflammatory process. Analysis of TGL progression proposes that DTI metrics sensitively detects micro-structural changes in TGL from acute inflammation towards lesion recovery and reorganization.
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Collateral flow augmentation using partial aortic occlusion may improve cerebral perfusion in acute stroke. We assessed the effect of partial aortic occlusion on arterial flow velocities of acute stroke patients. ⋯ TCD monitoring of patients treated with IABI may help in predicting outcome in this novel device.
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To evaluate the proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy ((1) H MRS) changes in carriers of a novel octapeptide repeat insertion in the prion protein gene (PRNP) and family history of frontotemporal dementia with ataxia. Four at-risk mutation carriers and 13 controls were compared using single voxel, short TE, (1) H MRS from the posterior cingulate gyrus. The mutation carriers had an increased choline/creatine, P = .003 and increased myoinositol/creatine ratio, P = .003. (1) H MRS identified differences in markers of glial activity and choline metabolism in pre- and early-symptomatic carriers of a novel PRNP gene octapeptide insertion. These findings expand the possible diagnostic utility of (1) H MRS in familial prion disorders.