Morphological and Functional Neuroradiology of Brain Metastases.

Neuroimaging plays a key role in the diagnosis and differentiation of brain metastases (BM) in patients with known or unknown malignancies. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are the key imaging modalities used in the detection of BM. Advanced imaging techniques including proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetic resonance perfusion, diffusion weighted imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging may aid in arriving at the correct diagnosis, in particular cases, such as newly diagnosed solitary enhancing brain lesions in patients without known malignancy.

Diagnostic neuroradiology of intracranial meningiomas presenting with hemorrhagic onset: a double center 14-year experience.

Purpose: This study aims to increase awareness of the hemorrhagic presentation of intracranial meningiomas in the emergency department and present clues for neuroradiological diagnosis, which is crucial for pertinent management. We described the prevalence of hemorrhage in a large population of meningioma patients, with emphasis on clinical presentation, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) findings.

Methods: This retrospective analysis has been performed at two reference institutions between January 2002 and December 2015, and includes 1304 patients with histologically proven newly diagnosed intracranial meningioma.

Imaging of metabolic and overload disorders in tissues and organs.

Metabolic and overload disorders are a heterogeneous group of relatively uncommon but important diseases. While imaging plays a key role in the early detection and accurate diagnosis in specific organs with a pivotal role in several metabolic pathways, most of these diseases affect different tissues as part of a systemic syndromes. Moreover, since the symptoms are often vague and phenotypes similar, imaging alterations can present as incidental findings, which must be recognized and interpreted in the light of further biochemical and histological investigations.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging: state of the art and applications in whole-body imaging.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging is a non-invasive technique used for the evaluation of tissue vascularity features through imaging series acquisition after contrast medium administration. Over the years, the study technique and protocols have evolved, seeing a growing application of this method across different imaging modalities for the study of almost all body districts. The main and most consolidated current applications concern MRI imaging for the study of tumors, but an increasing number of studies are evaluating the use of this technique also for inflammatory pathologies and functional studies.

Imaging side effects and complications of chemotherapy and radiation therapy: a pictorial review from head to toe.

Newer biologic drugs and immunomodulatory agents, as well as more tolerated and effective radiation therapy schemes, have reduced treatment toxicity in oncology patients. However, although imaging assessment of tumor response is adapting to atypical responses like tumor flare, expected changes and complications of chemo/radiotherapy are still routinely encountered in post-treatment imaging examinations. Radiologists must be aware of old and newer therapeutic options and related side effects or complications to avoid a misinterpretation of imaging findings.

The role of diffusion tensor imaging in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: A literature review.

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a syndrome that comprises a triad of gait disturbance, dementia and urinary incontinence, associated with ventriculomegaly in the absence of elevated intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure. It is important to identify patients with iNPH because some of its clinical features may be reversed by the insertion of a CSF shunt. The diagnosis is based on clinical history, physical examination and brain imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Oncology: An Update.

To date, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is included in routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols for several cancers. The real additive role of DWI lies in the "functional" information obtained by probing the free diffusivity of water molecules into intra and inter-cellular spaces that in tumors mainly depend on cellularity. Although DWI has not gained much space in some oncologic scenarios, this non-invasive tool is routinely used in clinical practice and still remains a hot research topic: it has been tested in almost all cancers to differentiate malignant from benign lesions, to distinguish different malignant histotypes or tumor grades, to predict and/or assess treatment responses, and to identify residual or recurrent tumors in follow-up examinations.

Diffusion tensor imaging in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: clinical and CSF flowmetry correlations.

Purpose: Diffusion tensor imaging is a magnetic resonance technique that provides information about the orientation and anisotropy of the white matter tracts. The aim of this study was to analyse diffusion tensor imaging quantitative parameters in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients, in order to determine whether this method could correlate to clinical scores and cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry data.

Methods And Materials: Fifteen consecutive patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and 15 age-matched controls underwent cerebrospinal fluid flowmetry and diffusion tensor imaging using a 1.

Neuroimaging of Takayasu Arteritis in a Patient with Ulcerative Rectocolitis.

Background: Takayasu arteritis (TA), also known as aortoarteritis and pulseless disease, is an autoimmune, idiopathic, large-vessel vasculitis that primarily affects the aorta and its major branches, the coronary arteries, and the pulmonary arteries.

Methods: This is a peculiar clinical and radiological pattern of TA in a young female Caucasian. Her medical history included diagnosis of ulcerative rectocolitis at the age of 14.

The spectrum of magnetic resonance findings in cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis: redefinition and evidence of new markers of disease progression.

Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is a metabolic disease characterized by systemic signs and neurological impairment, which can be prevented if chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) treatment is started early. Despite brain MRI represents an essential diagnostic tool, the spectrum of findings is worth to be reappraised, and follow-up data are needed. We performed clinical evaluation and brain MRI in 38 CTX patients.

An atypical Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis with involvement of spinal cord.

Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis (BBE) is a rare neurological disease that generally has a good prognosis. We describe an atypical case of a patient with severe BBE; the presentation was uncommon because of the lack of ophthalmoplegia and because of evidence of both peripheral neuropathy and brainstem encephalitis. The article reports clinical and biochemical evaluation and focuses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in diagnosis and management of the patient.

Neuroimaging of the Postoperative Spine.

Operative treatments of the spine are becoming increasingly more common for the availability of a wide range of surgical and minimally invasive procedures. MR imaging allows for excellent evaluation of both normal and abnormal findings in the postoperative spine. This article provides the basic tools to evaluate complications after different operative procedures and offers an overview on the main topics a radiologist may encounter during his or her professional carrier.

Early relapsing calcified cerebral embolism.

Calcified cerebral emboli are rarely reported, but may be recurrent and devastating. Misdiagnosis at interpretation of initial brain computed tomography (CT) scan may occur in up to 27% of cases. The purpose of this case report was to describe clinical, CT, and CT angiography findings in a 79-year-old woman undergoing early recurrent stroke from calcified cerebral embolism.

Cerebral circulation time is prolonged and not correlated with EDSS in multiple sclerosis patients: a study using digital subtracted angiography.

Literature has suggested that changes in brain flow circulation occur in patients with multiple sclerosis. In this study, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was used to measure the absolute CCT value in MS patients and to correlate its value to age at disease onset and duration, and to expand disability status scale (EDSS). DSA assessment was performed on eighty MS patients and on a control group of forty-four age-matched patients.

Wake-up (or wake-up for) stroke: a treatable stroke.

A 74-year-old man was admitted to the Emergency Room of our institution with worsening dysarthria, left-side weakness and hypoesthesia (NIHSS score: 5) since his awakening at 7:30 a.m. The evening before, he had gone to sleep at 10:30 p.