The role of neuroimaging in the determination of brain death.

Brain death is the irreversible cessation of all brain function. Although protocols for its determination vary among countries, the concept of brain death is widely accepted, despite ethical and religious issues. The pathophysiology of brain death is related to hypoxia and ischemia in the setting of extensive brain injury.

COVID-19 associated with encephalomyeloradiculitis and positive anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies: Cause or coincidence?

Neurologic complications are being recognized as important outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Pathogenesis is varied and incompletely understood, and may include neuroinvasion, indirect post-infectious neuroinflammation, and cerebrovascular pathologies. We present a case of COVID-19-related encephalomyeloradiculitis with clinical and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders that was associated with anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies.

Left and right ventricular function and volume assessment in young thalassemia major patients with no related myocardial iron overload.

Thalassemia major (TM) patients have altered ventricular volumes and ejection fraction compared to normals, although evidence for these findings stem from restricted patient groups and has never been reproduced. We sought to evaluate cardiac parameters by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in a group of young TM patients not covered by previous studies that are more representative of the TM population in many countries. Seventy patients including 40 TM with normal myocardial iron concentrations, and 30 age- and gender-matched normal (NL) volunteers underwent a CMR study for assessment of left and right ventricle volumes and function using a 1.

Pelvic applications of diffusion magnetic resonance images.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a powerful imaging technique in neuroimaging; its value in abdominal and pelvic imaging has only recently been appreciated as a result of improvements in magnetic resonance imaging technology. There is growing interest in the use of DWI for evaluating pathology in the pelvis. Its ability to noninvasively characterize tissues and to depict changes at a cellular level allows DWI to be an effective complement to conventional sequences of pelvic imaging, especially in oncologic patients.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the upper abdomen: technical issues and clinical applications.

Recent technological achievements have enabled the transposition of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with good diagnostic quality into other body regions, especially the abdomen and pelvis. Many emerging and established applications are now being evaluated on the upper abdomen, the liver being the most studied organ. This article discusses imaging strategies for DWI on the upper abdomen, describes the clinical protocol, and reviews the most common clinical applications of DWI on solid abdominal organs.