Intracranial aneurysms treated with stent-assisted coil embolization: evaluation with four-dimensional ultrashort-TE MR angiography.

Objectives: As a novel follow-up method for intracranial aneurysms treated with stent-assisted coil embolization (SACE), we developed four-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with minimized acoustic noise utilizing ultrashort-echo time (4D mUTE-MRA). We aimed to assess whether 4D mUTE-MRA is useful for the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms treated with SACE.

Methods: This study included 31 consecutive patients with intracranial aneurysm treated with SACE who underwent 4D mUTE-MRA at 3 T and digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

Successful Treatment of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma With Liver/Lung Metastasis and Peritoneal Dissemination After Liver Resection.

Background/aim: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is increasing in incidence and has a poor prognosis.

Case Report: A 79-year-old woman with two liver tumors was referred to our institution. The tumors demonstrated irregular margins and continuous peripheral enhancement.

Hybrid deep-learning-based denoising method for compressed sensing in pituitary MRI: comparison with the conventional wavelet-based denoising method.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a combined wavelet and deep-learning reconstruction (DLR) method for under-sampled pituitary MRI.

Methods: This retrospective study included 28 consecutive patients who underwent under-sampled pituitary T2-weighted images (T2WI). Images were reconstructed using either the conventional wavelet denoising method (wavelet method) or the wavelet and DLR methods combined (hybrid DLR method) at five denoising levels.

Assessment of cardiac implantable electric device lead perforation using a metal artifact reduction algorithm in cardiac computed tomography.

Purpose: CT is considered the non-invasive gold standard for evaluating cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) lead perforation, but metal artifacts caused by the lead tip affect the image quality and make a definitive diagnosis challenging. We compared the performances of the metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithm and the conventional algorithm for identification of the right ventricular (RV) lead tip position in cardiac CT studies of patients with CIEDs.

Method: Forty-seven consecutive patients (26 men; age 70.

A preliminary study of deep learning-based reconstruction specialized for denoising in high-frequency domain: usefulness in high-resolution three-dimensional magnetic resonance cisternography of the cerebellopontine angle.

Purpose: Deep learning-based reconstruction (DLR) has been developed to reduce image noise and increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of DLR for high spatial resolution (HR)-MR cisternography.

Methods: This retrospective study included 35 patients who underwent HR-MR cisternography.

Myocardial extracellular volume quantification in cardiac CT: comparison of the effects of two different iterative reconstruction algorithms with MRI as a reference standard.

Objectives: To compare the effects of hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) that incorporates a beam-hardening model for myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) quantification by cardiac CT using MRI as a reference standard.

Methods: In this retrospective study, a total of 34 patients were evaluated using cardiac CT and MRI. Paired CT image sets were created using HIR and MBIR with a beam-hardening model.

Incidence and severity of acute adverse reactions to four different gadolinium-based MR contrast agents.

Purpose: Differences in acute adverse reactions to different gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents have not been thoroughly evaluated. We investigated the relationships among the incidence and severity of acute adverse reactions, backgrounds of patients, and 4 types of different Gd-based contrast agents (gadopentetate dimeglumine, gadoteridol, gadoterate meglumine, and gadoxetate disodium).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the radiological records of 10,595 consecutive patients (4,343 female; 6,252 male; mean age, 63.

Spinal imaging features in Japanese patients with Marfan syndrome: a case-control study.

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the morphology of the lumbosacral spine, i.e. the dura and vertebral body shape, of Japanese patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS) by comparing it with sex- and age-matched controls.

Can sufficient preoperative information of intracranial aneurysms be obtained by using 320-row detector CT angiography alone?

Purpose: To determine whether sufficient pre-surgical treatment information of unruptured intracranial aneurysms can be obtained by using 320-row detector CT angiography (CTA) alone.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 40 consecutive patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms. All patients were prospectively conducted to perform 320-detector CTA as the only preoperative modality.

Type 1 perimedullary arteriovenous fistula with subarachnoid hemorrhage: utility of contrast-enhanced 3D gradient-echo technique.

Purpose: In patients with perimedullary arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), knowledge of lesion location is necessary to select the appropriate approach for catheter spinal angiography. We evaluated the utility of 3-dimensional (3D) fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) sequence for detecting type 1 perimedullary AVF with SAH.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated 4 patients (2 men, 2 women, aged 53 to 68 years, mean age, 59.

13C MR imaging of methionine-rich gliomas at 4.7T: a pilot study.

We explored the feasibility of using carbon-13 ((13)C) magnetic resonance imaging ((13)C-MRI) to depict (13)C-labeled methionine-enriched gliomas at 4.7 tesla. We transplanted 2 types of glioma cells separately to 2 subcutaneous tissue sites on the backs of mice weighing 15 to 20 g.

Multi-tensor tractography of the motor pathway at 3T: a volunteer study.

Conventional single-tensor tractography cannot depict the entire motor tract of the corticospinal tract because of fiber-crossing and other factors. Using a 3-tesla magnetic resonance (MR) unit, we compared single- and multi-tensor methods for the tract ratio of the 5 major components of the motor pathway, the lower extremity, trunk, hand, face, and tongue, in 5 healthy volunteers. Multi-tensor tractography is better than single-tensor tractography at 3T in depicting more fibers of non-trunk areas from the primary motor cortex.

Assessment of cerebral perfusion from bypass arteries using magnetic resonance regional perfusion imaging in patients with moyamoya disease.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether cerebral perfusion from bypassed arteries can be demonstrated on regional perfusion imaging (RPI) using arterial spin labeling. We then compared cerebral perfusion on RPI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in moyamoya patients who underwent extracranial-intracranial bypass surgery.

Materials And Methods: We performed RPI using a 3-T magnetic resonance scanner and DSA studies in 11 moyamoya patients treated by bypass surgery.

Diffusion tensor tractography in the head-and-neck region using a clinical 3-T MR scanner.

Rationale And Objectives: Diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) for neural fibers of the head-and-neck region at 3T has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using DTT for visualizing neural fibers in the head-and-neck region at 3T and to explore the use of this method in patients with head-and-neck mass lesions.

Materials And Methods: Using a 3T scanner, we obtained magnetic resonance images of the head and neck region in 5 healthy volunteers and 5 patients with head and neck mass lesions.

Diffusion-weighted imaging in ischemic stroke: effect of display method on observers' diagnostic performance.

Rationale And Objectives: When evaluating ischemic stroke on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI), the display method has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether standardization of the display method for DWI affects observers' diagnostic performance in detecting ischemic stroke on DWI.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-six observers evaluated 40 DWI studies in 20 patients with acute (< 6 hours) middle cerebral arterial strokes and 20 controls for the presence of hyperintense lesions in 10 areas using the Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score (ASPECTS) system and one area in the corona radiata using a modified version of the ASPECTS system (ASPECTS-DWI).

Diffusion-weighted imaging of primary brain lymphomas: effect of ADC value and signal intensity of T2-weighted imaging.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and T2 signal intensity (SI) in primary brain lymphomas affect their SI on diffusion-weighted images (DWI). On DWI of 16 brain lesions of 16 patients, 9 (56.2%) were hyperintense (grade-3), 4 (25%) partially hyperintense (grade-2) and 3 (18.

Detection of hemorrhagic hypointense foci in the brain on susceptibility-weighted imaging clinical and phantom studies.

Rationale And Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) for depicting hemorrhagic hypointense foci of the brain in comparison with gradient-recalled echo (GRE)- and GRE-type single-shot echo-planar imaging (GREI, GRE-EPI), and to assess the basic characteristics of the susceptibility effect by using a phantom.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively examined 16 patients (9 males, 7 females, aged 10-74 years, mean 43 years) with hypointense foci using SWI, GREI, and GRE-EPI at a 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) unit.

Pathological roles of advanced glycation end product receptors SR-A and CD36.

The pathological significance of advanced glycation end product (AGE)-modified proteins deposited in several lesions is generally accounted for by their cellular interaction via the AGE receptors and subsequent acceleration of the inflammatory process. In this study, we focused on two AGE receptors-specifically, the role of SR-A in pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy and the role of CD36 in AGE-induced downregulation of leptin by adipocytes. In terms of SR-A, diabetic wild-type mice exhibited increased urinary albumin excretion, glomerular hypertrophy, and mesangial matrix expansion, whereas SR-A-knockout mice showed reduced glomerular size and mesangial matrix area.