Longitudinal analysis highlights structural changes in grey- and white-matter within military personnel exposed to blast.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether gray matter volume and diffusion-based metrics in associated white matter changed in breachers who had neuroimaging performed at two timepoints. A secondary purpose was to compare these changes in a group who had a one-year interval between their imaging timepoints to a group that had a two-year interval between imaging.

Methods: Between timepoints, clusters with significantly different gray matter volume were used as seeds for reconstruction of associated structural networks using diffusion metrics.

Five-Year Serial Brain MRI Analysis of Military Members Exposed to Chronic Sub-Concussive Overpressures.

Background: The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command conducts explosives operations and training which exposes members to explosive charges at close proximity. This 5-year longitudinal trial was conducted in follow-up to our initial trial which examined military breachers with MRI and EEG pre and post blast exposure.

Purpose: To examine brain MRI findings in military personnel exposed to multiple repeated blast exposures.

Randomized trial of surveillance with abbreviated MRI in women with a personal history of breast cancer- impact on patient anxiety and cancer detection.

Background: Abbreviated breast MRI (A-MRI) substantially reduces the image acquisition and reading times and has been reported to have similar diagnostic accuracy as a full diagnostic protocol but has not been evaluated prospectively with respect to impact on psychological distress in women with a prior history of breast cancer (PHBC). This study aimed to determine if surveillance mammography (MG) plus A-MRI reduced psychological distress and if A-MRI improved cancer detection rates (CDR) as compared to MG alone.

Methods: This prospective controlled trial of parallel design was performed at a tertiary cancer center on asymptomatic women with PHBC who were randomized into two groups: routine surveillance with MG or intervention of MG plus A-MRI in a 1:1 ratio.

Extracranial Venous abnormalities: A true pathological finding in patients with multiple sclerosis or an anatomical variant?

Objective: To evaluate the extracranial venous anatomy with contrast-enhanced MR venogram (CE-MRV) in patients without multiple sclerosis (MS), and assess the prevalence of various venous anomalies such as asymmetry and stenosis in this population.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively recruited 100 patients without MS, aged 18-60 years, referred for contrast-enhanced MRI. They underwent additional CE-MRV from skull base to mediastinum on a 3T scanner.

Computed tomography for non-traumatic headache in the emergency department and the impact of follow-up testing on altering the initial diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the incidence of positive computed tomography (CT) findings in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with non-traumatic headache at our institution and (2) to examine follow-up exams, including lumbar puncture, non-enhanced CT, CT angiogram, CT venogram, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to see how often the use of further testing changes the diagnosis. With IRB approval, 865 patients were identified through ED requisitions for CT head with the indication of headache during the calendar year 2011. Exclusion criteria included head trauma, prior intracranial surgery, focal neurologic symptoms, and known intracranial mass.

Large French-Canadian family with Lewy body parkinsonism: exclusion of known loci.

The identification of rare, large families with Parkinson's disease (PD) has provided important clues that have contributed to our understanding of this complex disorder. We have identified a large French-Canadian kindred that spans five generations consisting of more than 90 individuals. A total of 65 individuals now have been examined, had venous blood drawn, and DNA extracted.