J Neuroradiology
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Intracranial large-artery atherosclerosis is considered a frequent cause of stroke worldwide, particularly in Asian populations. The current evidence suggests that symptomatic patients with severe stenosis may benefit from intracranial stents. There are two methods for calculating the degree of intracranial stenosis, Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) and North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET), but they have never been compared. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that NASCET and WASID measures are, on average, generally similar, although substantial disagreement in a given patient may be seen.
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Cerebral gas embolism may be revealed by the sudden onset of unconsciousness sometimes after surgery or after diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The clinical diagnosis may be difficult if the context is not relevant. ⋯ Etiological diagnosis revealed the presence of a lung tumor invading the mediastinum, thus possibly allowing the migration of gas from the lung to the arterial cerebral circulation. A second MRI performed 8 days after the initial event with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI) allowed better comprehension of the pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral injury secondary to gas embolism by showing two kinds of cerebral lesions: white-matter vasogenic edema and cytotoxic gray-matter edema.
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Previous studies have reported increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) velocity after decompressive craniectomy in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. A 27-year-old man presented with clinical and tomographic signs of cerebral herniation secondary to TBI. Prior to decompressive craniectomy, hemodynamic study by perfusion computed tomography (CT) indicated diffuse cerebral hyperperfusion. ⋯ The patient's blood pressure levels were similar at both pre- and postoperative perfusion CT examinations. This finding provides indirect evidence that decompressive craniectomy may improve mechanisms of CBF regulation in TBI, providing pathophysiological insights in the cerebral hemodynamics of TBI patients. This is the first report analyzing the hemodynamic changes through perfusion CT (PCT) in a patient with decompressive craniotomy due to TBI.