Examining the frontal subcortical brain vulnerability hypothesis in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: Are T2-weighted hyperintensities related to executive dysfunction?

Objective: It was hypothesized that neuropsychological impairments in children with neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) are associated with brain areas of increased T2-weighted signal intensity on MRI. Systematic and extensive examination of this hypothesis remains however scarce, particularly regarding executive dysfunction whereas hyperintensities are located preferentially in frontal-sub-cortical networks. In this study, we compared the executive functioning profile with characteristics of brain hyperintensities in children with NF1.

Relationships between bone mass and micro-architecture at the mandible and iliac bone in edentulous subjects: a dual X-ray absorptiometry, computerised tomography and microcomputed tomography study.

Objectives: To compare bone volume, bone mineral density, cortical thickness and bone micro-architecture in a series of paired mandibular and iliac bone samples analysed by various imagery techniques to see whether relationships exist between the various techniques and between mandibular and iliac bone.

Materials And Methods: Bone samples from the mandible and ilium were harvested in 20 cadavers and analysed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), computerised tomography (CT) on a conventional hospital machine and microCT.

Results: Significant correlations were found between Hounsfield density obtained by CT, and bone mass determined by microCT but not with DXA values.

[Silent sinus syndrome associated with intrasinusal ossification].

Background: The silent sinus syndrome (SSS) is a rare cause of diplopia and facial asymmetry. It is commonly attributed to a sinus atelectasis secondary to ostiomeatal obstruction. Surgical dissection of the maxillary sinus mucosal lining is known to cause auto-obliteration by bone formation.

Extreme oral manifestations in a Marfan-type syndrome.

A 12-year-old girl with an otherwise typical Marfan syndrome (Ghent criteria fulfilled) presented with highly unusual oral manifestations consisting of supernumerary teeth and severe dental crowding. Pathological examination of the supernumerary teeth revealed an elevated number of pulpoliths. No mutation in the FBN1, TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 genes was identified despite exhaustive screening, suggesting that another gene defect could explain this association of marfanoid features with dental abnormalities.

Correlating implant stability to bone structure.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate a possible correlation between bone microarchitecture and primary implant stability.

Material And Methods: Twenty-two implants (Ankylos((R)) and Straumann((R))) were inserted into the maxillae and mandibles of human cadavers. Bone structure was determined by computed tomography in three specimens (male, age 53; female, 67; female, 80).

Hyrtl's fissure: a case of spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea.

Spontaneous CSF otorrhea is a relatively rare entity. Adequate diagnosis and treatment are needed to avoid life-threatening complications such as meningitis. Because diagnosis is based on CT findings, identification of the different pathways of congenital fistulas requires detailed knowledge of embryology and anatomy.

Computed tomography in TN stage evaluation of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers.

Oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas are characterized by a high incidence of node metastatic involvement and local extension. The study compared the TN stage of patients by clinical and computed tomography (CT) examination to postoperative histopathology. Sensitivity of CT for tumor extension was 82%, predictive value for bone involvement 67%.

Spontaneous sphenoid sinus mucocele revealed by meningitis and brain abscess in a 12-year-old child.

Sphenoid sinus mucocele is an uncommon lesion related to inflammatory disease that is diagnosed after surgery or a traumatic event. This report describes an unusual case revealed by bacterial meningitis and cerebral abscess in a 12-year-old child. CT and MR imaging allowed precise extension to the skull base in preoperative management and follow-up investigations.

What is the arcuate eminence?

A study was made of 100 homogeneous CT scans of the petrous part of the temporal bone to determine whether or not the arcuate eminence (AE) is a good landmark for the superior semicircular canal (SSCC) in the suprapetrous approach to the internal acoustic meatus which is used in the extirpation of acoustic neuromas. Direct measurements were made on consecutive coronal sections, 1 mm thick. The AE was absent from the petrous surface in 15% of cases.

[Non-invasive evaluation of an injectable bone substitute].

Despite the increasing number of techniques for the preservation of bone ridges after dental avulsion, no precise evaluation of alveolar filling has been performed to date. The criteria of available measurement techniques (probes, retroalveolar or panoramic radiography, and lateral teleradiography) are not sufficiently reliable and precise. This study investigated the reliability of evaluation based on CT images in comparison with retroalveolar radiography (the most precise radiographic technique, providing standardised images), direct measurements, and images obtained in scanning electron microscopy.

Radiation-induced cancers of the pharynx and larynx: a study of five clinical cases.

Radiation-induced cancer, a rare clinical entity, is often difficult to diagnose and manage. This study reports a series of five cases of radiocarcinogenesis of the pharynx and/or larynx that developed after external radiotherapy. The primary lesion was diagnosed at a mean age of 50 years (+/-12.

The petrosquamosal sinus: CT and MR findings of a rare emissary vein.

Background And Purpose: Morphologic changes in the dural sinuses and emissary veins of the posterior fossa relate closely to the development of the brain. We report characteristic findings of imaging in six patients with a rare and forgotten emissary vein called the petrosquamosal sinus (PSS).

Methods: From a larger group of patients with ear abnormalities, we selected six patients from three ENT imaging centers, because they had CT features suggestive of a PPS.

[The foramen rotundum. Anatomy and radiological explorations. Pathology].

The foramen rotundum is a small canal deeply situated in the base of the skull which represents the way of exit of the maxillary nerve, second branch of the trigeminal nerve. Its precise individualization and analyse is difficult and necessitates a precise and adapted technique as well as a precise knowledge of its anatomical relationships. Its represents a frontier area between the endo- and exocranial spaces.

[Imaging of the cochleo-vestibular system].

This article will review the main pathologies affecting the vestibulocochlear system from the sensorineural organs to the cerebral cortex. MR imaging has greatly improved detection of these pathologies. Thin slice MR imaging using different pulse sequences now allows improved depiction of anatomical structures.

[The value of beta-2 transferrin analysis and MR cisternography for the diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid fistulas].

The diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula may require invasive techniques. Detection of CSF and perilymph-specific beta 2 transferrin and MR cisternography which greatly enhances the CSF signal are sensitive and noninvasive techniques which allowed a precise diagnosis in seven patients with suspected CSF fistula. We review the different diagnostic techniques used for CSF fistula, beta 2 transferrin analysis and MR cisternography appear to provide accurate and noninvasive methods for investigating CSF fistulae.

Diagnosis of brain death using two-phase spiral CT.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of spiral CT in the diagnosis of brain death.

Methods: Spiral CT was evaluated prospectively in 14 brain-dead patients and in 11 healthy subjects. A two-phase protocol was used.

[Radio-anatomical study of the external auditory canal. Comparison between anatomical pieces and x-ray computed tomography].

Ear canal CT scan is widely used in addition to clinical examination, for diagnosis and evaluation of disease extension. Ear mouldings were performed on 11 cadavers (22 mouldings), 5 measurements were taken on each specimen and compared with CT scan measurement. Moulding measurements varied from side to side in one specimen, and moreover from one specimen on another one.

Abdominal MRI using a negative contrast agent.

A dose of 0.5 g of a negative oral contrast agent for labelling the bowel, was given to 40 patients in a clinical trial. Oral magnetic particles (OMP) consist of crystals of iron oxide with superparamagnetic properties, and are administered in 800 ml of a viscous suspension in order to obtain a uniform distribution.

[Arteriography in renal metastases from solid tumors (excluding lymphomas). Study of 3 cases and review of the literature].

Three cases of arteriography of renal metastasis of solid tumors are presented. Twice the primitive cancer was bronchial, once laryngeal. There is not other clinical metastasis at the time of arteriography.