Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Compression: MRI Primer for Emergency Department Radiologists.

The occurrence of acute myelopathy in a nontrauma setting constitutes a medical emergency for which spinal MRI is frequently ordered as the first step in the patient's workup. The emergency department radiologist should be familiar with the common differential diagnoses of acute myelopathy and be able to differentiate compressive from noncompressive causes. The degree of spinal cord compression and presence of an intramedullary T2-hyperintense signal suggestive of an acute cord edema are critical findings for subsequent urgent care such as surgical decompression.

Imaging in neuro-oncology.

Imaging plays several key roles in managing brain tumors, including diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response assessment. Ongoing challenges remain as new therapies emerge and there are urgent needs to find accurate and clinically feasible methods to noninvasively evaluate brain tumors before and after treatment. This review aims to provide an overview of several advanced imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET), including advances in new PET agents, and summarize several key areas of their applications, including improving the accuracy of diagnosis and addressing the challenging clinical problems such as evaluation of pseudoprogression and anti-angiogenic therapy, and rising challenges of imaging with immunotherapy.

False-positive finding of brain metastasis on (18)F-FDG PET imaging due to early subacute ischemic stroke.

An F-FDG PET performed for staging of a left lung mass showed a hypermetabolic focus in the left posterior fossa suggestive for brain metastasis. However, subsequent MRI showed restricted diffusion in the left cerebellum indicating a subacute ischemic stroke. Follow-up PET showed resolution of FDG uptake; MRI showed focal left cerebellar encephalomalacia.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: knowledge and screening practices of university hospital medical students and residents.

Background: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the leading cause of preventable intellectual disabilities in the United States and a significant public health issue.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and screening practices of pre-clinical medical students and clinical providers on FAS, FASD, and alcohol consumption.

Methods: A short survey sent to medical students and residents on the campus of a large medical school and university hospital.

Gene expression profiling of metastatic brain cancer.

Gene expression profiling of metastatic brain tumors from primary lung adenocarcinoma, using a 17k-expression array, revealed that 1561 genes were consistently altered. Further functional classification placed the genes into seven categories: cell cycle and DNA damage repair, apoptosis, signal transduction molecules, transcription factors, invasion and metastasis, adhesion, and angiogenesis. Genes involved in apoptosis, such as caspase 2 (CASP2), transforming growth factor-beta inducible early gene (TIEG), and neuroprotective heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) were underexpressed in metastatic brain tumors.