[The angiogram sign in lung consolidation: what is its diagnostic value?].

The angiogram sign in chest CT is the demonstration of normally enhanced pulmonary branches within hypoattenuating lung parenchyma consolidation. In a retrospective review of the chest CT exams performed in a 2-year period, we identified the angiogram sign in 10 patients with lung consolidation; the diagnosis was central lung tumor with obstructive pneumonia in 4 patients, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in 2 patients, postirradiation fibrosis in 1 patient, tuberculous pneumonia in 1 patient, lung lymphoma in 1 patient and metastasis from pancreatic tumor in 1 patient. The diagnosis was made with cytology and/or surgical specimen in 9 patients and with clinical-radiologic follow-up in 1 patient.

Therapeutic infiltration of the facet joint in minor intervertebral disease.

A CT-guided infiltration technique of the facet joints was employed on a group of 20 patients suffering from sciatica without any signs ofmorphostructural alteration of the facet joints, secondary to Minor Intervertebral Disease (MID). The typical flouroscopically guided intra-articular facet arthrography has been substituted by a CT-guided technique that privileges therapy rather than diagnosis. The study involved 20 patients between 29 and 57 years of age (average 44.

Visual outcome in children with congenital hemiplegia: correlation with MRI findings.

Fourteen children with congenital hemiplegia were studied with a detailed assessment of various aspects of vision (linear acuity, stereopsis, visual fields) and MRI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a congenital lesion on visual function. The results showed a very high incidence (78%) of children who had abnormal results on at least one of the visual tests.

Subcapsular renal spread of a pancreatic pseudocyst.

In pancreatitis, the fluid collection may extend to unusual sites and organs and form a pseudocyst. We present US and CT findings of a pancreatic tail pseudocyst extending into the subcapsular space of the left kidney.

Auxological, clinical and neuroradiological findings in infants with early onset growth hormone deficiency.

Sixteen infants less than 2 years of age with apparently idiopathic hypopituitarism were studied. At birth, 11 of 16 patients (69%) had subnormal length associated with relative adiposity and 10 of 16 (62%) showed significant deterioration in length deficiency from birth onwards. These findings suggest that: (a) growth hormone deficiency, in a number of patients, had started well before delivery; (b) growth hormones may play a role in intrauterine growth; and (c) growth hormone may also be involved in early postnatal growth.

[Computerized tomography in the assessment of metastatic facial adenopathy].

The facial lymph nodes are classified in five groups: mandibular, buccinator, infraorbital, malar and retrozygomatic nodes. This paper reports the CT appearance of neoplastic involvement of these nodes, an unusual and not well documented event. The CT examinations of 62 patients with a history of primary or recurrent cancer of the epidermal structures of the face, oral cavity and sinonasal region were retrospectively reviewed to assess the presence of facial adenopathy.

[Computerized tomography in gaseous hypotonic duodenography in the study of the pancreatico-duodenal area].

This study was aimed at assessing the role of CT-hypotonic gaseous duodenography in the study of the pancreatic-duodenal region. Forty-two patients with malignancies in this region were examined with CT of the upper abdomen followed by CT-hypotonic gaseous duodenography (30 pancreatic head cancers, 7 main bile duct and 5 ampullary lesions). In 20 of 28 cases of pancreatic head carcinoma, CT-hypotonic gaseous duodenography yielded more pieces of information than baseline abdominal CT and was also more useful in small pancreatic head cancers, < 4 cm diameter.

Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in multiple sclerosis is likely related to brainstem lesions.

Impairment of cardiovascular autonomic reflexes has been described in multiple sclerosis (MS), and believed reflecting dysfunction of reflex pathways located within the central nervous system. A battery of cardiovascular autonomic tests were performed in 40 patients with definite MS: R-R interval variation test, deep breathing, Valsalva manoeuvre, blood pressure and heart rate responses to standing, sustained handgrip. The results were evaluated by Bayesian analysis, a pattern recognition technique.

Coexistence of growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma and intracranial meningioma: a case report and review of the literature.

The simultaneous occurrence of a pituitary adenoma and an intracranial meningioma is a rare event. We report the coexistence of an eosinophilic pituitary adenoma and a endotheliomatous meningioma, in the sellar region, and evaluate their endocrine, neuro-radiological and immunohistochemical pattern. A 47-year-old woman affected by acromegaly was referred to us.

Synovial osteochondromatosis of the ankle: MR findings.

The authors present a case of primary synovial osteochondromatosis of the ankle, as demonstrated by magnetic resonance (MR). Ankle involvement by osteochondromatosis is unusual. The characteristic MR findings are: target appearance of some loose bodies with a low intensity peripheral rim and a center isointense to the soft tissues on T1-weighted images, which remain unchanged on T2-weighted images.

Diagnosis of hepatic hemangiomas with 99mTc-labeled red blood cell scanning: value of SPECT.

99mTc-labeled red blood cell (RBC) scanning is considered a highly specific technique for the study of hepatic hemangiomas. However, planar imaging displays poor sensitivity for the identification of small lesions. The authors consider a survey group of 119 patients, of whom 66 with a presumed diagnosis of hepatic hemangioma, for a total of 77 lesions ranging from 0.

[Trans-sphenoidal spread of rhinopharyngeal neoplasms. Correlations between computerized tomography and magnetic resonance].

In 1957 Teoh observed, in an autopsic series of 31 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 3 cases of neoplastic spread through the marrow spaces of the base of the skull, without macroscopic bone alterations. In order to demonstrate in vivo this kind of neoplastic spread, CT and MR examinations of 35 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were reviewed. In 3/26 cases the invasion of the marrow spaces of the clivus was demonstrated.

MR findings in thyroglossal duct cysts: report of two cases.

Two patients with thyroglossal duct cysts have been studied with CT and MR. The typical CT feature of these cystic upper-neck lesions are depicted in literature, conversely MR findings are not well known. The homogeneous high intensity on T1-weighted images, higher than simple cyst or fluid, is the most typical feature of the thyroglossal cyst.

[Extra-abdominal spread of pelvic neoplasms. CT evaluation and radiotherapeutic implications].

Meyers and other authors have described the extra-abdominal spread of inflammatory abdominal diseases. Conversely, little attention has been paid to the extra-abdominal spread of pelvic neoplasms. The authors have detected, by means of CT, 17 cases of extra-abdominal neoplastic spread in a series of 203 patients with pelvic neoplasms.

Tumors of the ampulla diagnosed by CT hypotonic duodenography.

Adenocarcinoma is an uncommon gastrointestinal malignancy. Fiberoptic duodenoscopy is the diagnostic procedure of choice, allowing direct visualization as well as biopsy of the neoplasm. Conversely, in the vast majority of cases, CT is unable to demonstrate the duodenal tumor.