Intracranial CNS Infections: A Literature Review and Radiology Case Studies.

Acute infections of the intracranial central nervous system (CNS) often present as neurological emergencies, where missed or delayed diagnosis and treatment can be catastrophic to the patient. Accurate and timely identification of the underlying etiologies, which are critical in directing life-saving therapies, can be achieved through neuroimaging. This article will provide a thorough review of radiologic findings in common infections of the brain, from primarily compartmentalized infections of multimicrobial etiologies, to CNS manifestations of specific immunocompromised-selective pathogens, of herpes simplex virus, and of tuberculosis.

Acute Bowel Computed Tomography.

Acute abdominal pain is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department. Increasingly, computed tomography is utilized for evaluating these patients. Radiologists are therefore expected to be familiar with the pertinent clinical and radiologic information related to acute bowel pathology.

Infectious and inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system-the spectrum of imaging findings and differential diagnosis.

The infectious and inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) including the brain and spine can present with a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms, locations, and appearance. The purpose of this exhibit is to review the different patterns of their presentations, to illustrate their imaging characteristics and techniques, and to discuss their clinical features and pathology so that the correct diagnosis can be made and prompt intervention can be initiated on a timely fashion.

Extracranial internal carotid artery calcium volume measurement using computer tomography.

Background: The extent of calcium volume in the carotid arteries of contrast-based computer tomography (CT) is a valuable indicator of stroke risk. This study presents an automated, simple and fast calcium volume computation system. Since the high contrast agent can sometimes obscure the presence of calcium in the CT slices, it is therefore necessary to identify these slices before the corrected volume can be estimated.

White Matter Diffusion Abnormalities in Carotid Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background & Purpose: Abnormalities in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) values can be used to assess microstructural damage to white matter tracts and could represent a quantitative marker of chronic ischemia and thereby potentially serve as a stroke risk factor or a measure of existing subclinical ischemic disease burden. We performed a systematic review and 3 separate meta-analyses to evaluate the association between unilateral carotid steno-occlusion and ipsilateral ADC, FA, or MD abnormality.

Materials & Methods: A comprehensive literature search evaluating the association of carotid disease and quantitative white matter diffusion imaging was performed.

Silent Brain Infarction in Patients With Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Atherosclerotic Disease.

Background And Purpose: The relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and ipsilateral silent brain infarction (SBI) is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis is associated with a greater prevalence of SBI in the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to ICA disease compared with the unaffected, contralateral side.

Methods: We identified patients with unilateral extracranial ICA stenosis ≥50% on angiography by standard imaging criteria.

Detection of Symptomatic Carotid Plaque Using Source Data from MR and CT Angiography: A Correlative Study.

Background: Carotid plaque MRI has been a useful method to characterize vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque elements. Recent investigations have suggested that source images from CT angiography (CTA) and MR angiography (MRA) can identify the simple high-risk features of symptom-producing carotid artery plaque. We studied the correlation and relative diagnostic accuracies of CTA and MRA source images in detecting symptomatic carotid artery plaque.

Plaque echolucency and stroke risk in asymptomatic carotid stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Purpose: Ultrasonographic plaque echolucency has been studied as a stroke risk marker in carotid atherosclerotic disease. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the association between ultrasound-determined carotid plaque echolucency and future ipsilateral stroke risk.

Methods: We searched the medical literature for studies evaluating the association between carotid plaque echolucency and future stroke in asymptomatic patients.