High-resolution postcontrast time-of-flight MR angiography of intracranial perforators at 7.0 Tesla.

Background And Purpose: Different studies already demonstrated the benefits of 7T for precontrast TOF-MRA in the visualization of intracranial small vessels. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of high-resolution 7T TOF-MRA after the administration of a gadolinium-based contrast agent in visualizing intracranial perforating arteries.

Materials And Methods: Ten consecutive patients (7 male; mean age, 50.

Cerebral lesions on 7 tesla MRI in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Background: Patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) are at a high risk to develop cerebral damage. Most common are silent cerebral infarctions (SCIs), visible as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on MRI in a patient without neurological deficits. The etiology of SCIs remains largely unclear.

Attentional biases for food cues in overweight and individuals with obesity: a systematic review of the literature.

Obesity rates have increased dramatically in recent decades, and it has proven difficult to treat. An attentional bias towards food cues may be implicated in the aetiology of obesity and influence cravings and food consumption. This review systematically investigated whether attentional biases to food cues exist in overweight/obese compared with healthy weight individuals.

Calibrated MRI to evaluate cerebral hemodynamics in patients with an internal carotid artery occlusion.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether calibrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can identify regional variances in cerebral hemodynamics caused by vascular disease. For this, arterial spin labeling (ASL)/blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI was performed in 11 patients (65±7 years) and 14 controls (66±4 years). Cerebral blood flow (CBF), ASL cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), BOLD CVR, oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) were evaluated.

Rationale and design of the extracranial Carotid artery Aneurysm Registry (CAR).

Background: Aneurysms of the extracranial carotid artery (ECAA) are rare. Although most ECAA are identified in asymptomatic patients, serious neurological complications may occur. Current literature on treatment outcome contains mainly case reports and small case series with incomplete data and lack of long-term follow-up.

Silent ischemic brain lesions after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: lesion distribution and predictors.

Aims: Silent ischemic brain lesions and ischemic stroke are known complications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We aimed to investigate the occurrence and distribution of TAVR-related silent ischemic brain lesions using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI).

Methods: Consecutive patients with severe aortic valve stenosis treated with TAVR underwent cerebral DWI within 5 days after the index procedure.

Distribution and natural course of intracranial vessel wall lesions in patients with ischemic stroke or TIA at 7.0 Tesla MRI.

Objectives: Previous studies using intracranial vessel wall MRI techniques showed that over 50 % of patients with ischemic stroke or TIA had one or more intracranial vessel wall lesions. In the current study, we assessed the preferential location of these lesions within the intracranial arterial tree and their potential changes over time in these patient groups.

Methods: Forty-nine patients with ischemic stroke (n = 25) or TIA (n = 24) of the anterior cerebral circulation underwent 7.

Plaque components in symptomatic moderately stenosed carotid arteries related to cerebral infarcts: the plaque at RISK study.

Background And Purpose: Carotid plaque composition is a major determinant of cerebrovascular events. In the present analysis, we evaluated the relationship between intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) and a thin/ruptured fibrous cap (TRFC) in moderately stenosed carotid arteries and cerebral infarcts on MRI in the ipsilateral hemisphere.

Methods: A total of 101 patients with a symptomatic 30% to 69% carotid artery stenosis underwent MRI of the carotid arteries and the brain, within a median time of 45 days from onset of symptoms.

Likelihood ratio methods for forensic comparison of evaporated gasoline residues.

In the investigation of arson, evidence connecting a suspect to the fire scene may be obtained by comparing the composition of ignitable liquid residues found at the crime scene to ignitable liquids found in possession of the suspect. Interpreting the result of such a comparison is hampered by processes at the crime scene that result in evaporation, matrix interference, and microbial degradation of the ignitable liquid. Most commonly, gasoline is used as a fire accelerant in arson.

Imaging the intracranial atherosclerotic vessel wall using 7T MRI: initial comparison with histopathology.

Background And Purpose: Several studies have attempted to characterize intracranial atherosclerotic plaques by using MR imaging sequences. However, dedicated validation of these sequences with histology has not yet been performed. The current study assessed the ability of ultra-high-resolution 7T MR imaging sequences with different image contrast weightings to image plaque components, by using histology as criterion standard.

Embrella embolic deflection device for cerebral protection during transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aims: To compare the extent of cerebral ischemic injury after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the use of an Embrella Embolic Deflector System versus unprotected TAVR.

Methods: Fifteen patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis underwent TAVR with use of the Embrella Embolic Deflector System for cerebral protection. Cerebral diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) was performed in all patients at day 4 after the procedure and images were retrospectively compared to 37 patients who had previously undergone TAVR without a protection device (TAVR-only group).

Unambiguous characterization of analytical markers in complex, seized opiate samples using an enhanced ion mobility trace detector-mass spectrometer.

Ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS)-based trace-compound detectors (TCDs) are powerful and widely implemented tools for the detection of illicit substances. They combine high sensitivity, reproducibility, rapid analysis time, and resistance to dirt with an acceptable false alarm rate. The analytical specificity of TCD-IMS instruments for a given analyte depends strongly on a detailed knowledge of the ion chemistry involved, as well as the ability to translate this knowledge into field-robust analytical methods.

Subcortical structures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The aim of this study was to assess the involvement of deep gray matter, hippocampal subfields, and ventricular changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A total of 112 ALS patients and 60 healthy subjects participated. High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired using a 3T MRI scanner.

Neuronal activation induced BOLD and CBF responses upon acetazolamide administration in patients with steno-occlusive artery disease.

Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) MRI is widely used for inferring neuronal activation and is becoming increasingly popular for assessing cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) when combined with a vasoactive stimulus. The BOLD signal contains changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and thus information regarding neurovascular coupling and CVR. The BOLD signal, however, is also modulated by changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2), as well as changes in the physiological baseline state.

Intraplaque hemorrhage, fibrous cap status, and microembolic signals in symptomatic patients with mild to moderate carotid artery stenosis: the Plaque at RISK study.

Background And Purpose: In patients with mild to moderate symptomatic carotid artery stenosis, intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) and a thin/ruptured fibrous cap (FC) as evaluated with MRI, and the presence of microembolic signals (MESs) as detected with transcranial Doppler, are associated with an increased risk of a (recurrent) stroke. The objective of the present study is to determine whether the prevalence of MES differs in patients with and without IPH and thin/ruptured FC, and patients with only a thin/ruptured FC without IPH.

Methods: In this multicenter, diagnostic cohort study, patients with recent transient ischemic attack or minor stroke in the carotid territory and an ipsilateral mild to moderate carotid artery plaque were included.

Patterns of intracranial vessel wall changes in relation to ischemic infarcts.

Objective: In this retrospective case series study, we used 7.0 tesla MRI to describe patterns of intracranial vessel wall abnormalities in relation to ischemic infarcts in 9 patients with different intracranial vessel wall pathologies.

Methods: A patient-specific clinical imaging protocol was obtained after regular clinical workup, including a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and an intracranial vessel wall sequence before and after contrast administration using 7.

Ischaemic cavities in the cerebellum: an ex vivo 7-tesla MRI study with pathological correlation.

Background: Small cerebellar cavities (≤15 mm) are often observed coincidentally in ageing subjects and have also been associated with migraine. Although generally assumed to be of ischaemic origin, descriptive imaging studies are sparse and imaging findings have not been correlated with histopathology. We aimed to investigate whether small ischaemic cavities in the cerebellum show characteristic infarct patterns that might be helpful for diagnostic imaging.

Cortical thickness in ALS: towards a marker for upper motor neuron involvement.

Objective: Examine whether cortical thinning is a disease-specific phenomenon across the spectrum of motor neuron diseases in relation to upper motor neuron (UMN) involvement.

Methods: 153 patients (112 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 19 patients with a clinical UMN phenotype, 22 with a lower motor neuron (LMN) phenotype), 60 healthy controls and 43 patients with an ALS mimic disorder were included for a cross-sectional cortical thickness analysis. Thirty-nine patients with ALS underwent a follow-up scan.

Arterial spin-labelling perfusion MRI and outcome in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Purpose: Hyperperfusion may be related to outcome in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether arterial spin labelling (ASL) perfusion is associated with outcome in neonates with HIE and to compare the predictive value of ASL MRI to known MRI predictive markers.

Methods: Twenty-eight neonates diagnosed with HIE and assessed with MR imaging (conventional MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI, MR spectroscopy [MRS], and ASL MRI) were included.

7.0 T MRI detection of cerebral microinfarcts in patients with a symptomatic high-grade carotid artery stenosis.

In the current study, the presence of cerebral cortical microinfarcts (CMIs) was evaluated in a series of 21 patients with a symptomatic high-grade >50% stenosis of the carotid artery. A T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence and a T1-weighted turbo field echo sequence of the brain were obtained at 7.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging.

Cortical depth dependence of the BOLD initial dip and poststimulus undershoot in human visual cortex at 7 Tesla.

Purpose: Owing to variability in vascular dynamics across cerebral cortex, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) spatial and temporal characteristics should vary as a function of cortical-depth. Here, the positive response, initial dip (ID), and post-stimulus undershoot (PSU) of the BOLD response in human visual cortex are investigated as a function of cortical depth and stimulus duration at 7 Tesla (T).

Methods: Gradient-echo echo-planar-imaging BOLD fMRI with high spatial and temporal resolution was performed in 7 healthy volunteers and measurements of the ID, PSU, and positive BOLD response were made as a function of cortical depth and stimulus duration (0.

Seven-tesla magnetic resonance imaging of atherosclerotic plaque in the significantly stenosed carotid artery: a feasibility study.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of carotid vessel wall imaging at 7.0 for T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a series of patients with a symptomatic greater than 70% stenosis of the internal carotid artery.

Materials And Methods: First, a series of 6 healthy volunteers were scanned at 3.