Language-Related Brain Potentials in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness: A Follow-up Study to Detect "Covert" Language Disorders.

Language disorders may occur in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoCs), and they could interfere with the behavioral assessment of consciousness and responsiveness. Objective. In this study, we retrospectively explored whether ERP N400 was eventually associated with the presence of aphasia diagnosed in those patients who had evolved into Exit-Minimally Conscious State (E-MCS) at the clinical follow-up.

White matter hyperintensities segmentation: a new semi-automated method.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are brain areas of increased signal on T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inverse recovery magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. In this study we present a new semi-automated method to measure WMH load that is based on the segmentation of the intensity histogram of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Thirty patients with mild cognitive impairment with variable WMH load were enrolled.

Changes in magnetic resonance imaging disease measures over 3 years in mildly disabled patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis receiving interferon β-1a in the COGnitive Impairment in MUltiple Sclerosis (COGIMUS) study.

Background: Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has improved the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, MRI has been found to detect treatment effects with greater sensitivity than clinical measures; however, clinical and MRI outcomes tend to correlate poorly.

Methods: In this observational study, patients (n = 550; 18-50 years; relapsing-remitting MS [Expanded Disability Status Scale score ≤4.

3 Tesla is twice as sensitive as 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in the assessment of diffuse axonal injury in traumatic brain injury patients.

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI), associated with deafferentation and functional rearrangement, probably plays a role in the chronic phase of traumatic brain injury (TBI). DAI with a haemorrhagic component can be quantified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thanks to the iron-based susceptibility effect of haemosiderin, which increases with magnetic field strength. The aim of this work was to compare conventional 1.

Colouring rehabilitation with functional neuroimaging.

Neuroimaging is becoming an increasingly important means of detecting changes in biochemical, microstructural and functional patterns occurring during rehabilitation. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), "advanced techniques", such as functional MRI, relaxometry, diffusion tensor imaging and spectroscopy, are making it possible to investigate these changes in vivo, together with brain function. This review highlights how advances in the field of MRI can shed light on the relationship between cerebral reorganisation after focal damage and functional recovery, providing insights that might be translated into clinical benefits for patients.

Infratentorial lesion volume correlates with sensory functional system in multiple sclerosis patients: a 3.0-Tesla MRI study.

Purpose: This study sought to correlate lesion volume in infratentorial areas using 3.0-T proton-density (PD)-weighted images with disability scales and appropriate functional system scores in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials And Methods: We examined 20 consecutive patients (13 women and 7 men) with a median age of 47 years (range 26-70).

A multimodal MRI investigation of the subventricular zone in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease patients.

The subventricular zone (SVZ) is a region that lies immediately beneath the ependymal layer on the lateral wall of the lateral ventricles, and is separated from the caudate nucleus by a layer of myelin. It contains multipotent neural stem cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the tissue around the SVZ, with the hypothesis that multimodal MRI is able to highlight the progressive disruption of tissue caused by the neurodegenerative disease in this area.

User interface of a teleradiology system for the MR assessment of multiple sclerosis.

The aim of this study was to assess the image display of a web-based teleradiology system that uses a common web browser and has no need of proprietary applets, plug-ins, or dedicated software for DICOM display. The teleradiology system (TS) is connected to the Internet by ADSL and to radiological modalities using the DICOM standard with TCP/IP. Images were displayed on a PC through Internet connection with the remote TS using a common web browser.

Cognitive impairment and its relation with disease measures in mildly disabled patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: baseline results from the Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis (COGIMUS) study.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), but the association between cognitive impairment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disease measures in patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS is unclear.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of cognitive impairment and its relation with MRI disease measures in mildly disabled patients with RRMS.

Methods: Patients aged 18-50 years with RRMS (McDonald criteria) and an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Object naming and action-verb generation in Parkinson's disease: a fMRI study.

Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated that non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have particular difficulty in producing verbs in a word generation situation. Two alternative explanations for this deficit have been proposed: the "motor" theory (verbs as action representawcttions) and the "grammatical" theory (verbs as lexical category). The aim of this study was to investigate the "motor" theory by exploring the neuronal substrates of action-related word production.

Characterization of white matter fiber bundles with T2* relaxometry and diffusion tensor imaging.

In this study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and T(2)* multiechorelaxometry were combined in 30 healthy subjects at 3T, with the aim of characterizing the spatial distribution of relaxation rates in white matter (WM). Region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed in 23 different fiber tracts automatically defined in standard space. Spearman rank analysis was performed on regional values of T(2)*, fractional anisotropy (FA), and radial diffusivity (RD).

Volume and iron content in basal ganglia and thalamus.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have highlighted the possibility to investigate brain iron content in vivo. In this study, we combined T2* relaxometry and automatic segmentation of basal ganglia based on T1-weighted images in healthy subjects, with the aim of characterizing age related changes in volume and iron-related relaxivity values (R2*) of these structures. Thirty healthy subjects underwent MR imaging at 3 Tesla.

What insights have new imaging techniques given into aggressive forms of MS--different forms of MS or different from MS?

"Aggressive" multiple sclerosis (MS) is still a challenging diagnosis, in spite of the relevant progresses concerning the comprehension of the disease mechanisms, especially through pathology studies and the advent of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Some reviews have been already published on their clinical and therapeutical aspects, but no systematic review is available in literature about the neuroradiological features, using both conventional and advanced techniques. In particular, advanced MRI techniques, namely diffusion-weighted and tensor imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, are giving new insights to find specific and appropriate radiological parameters that can help in targeting the diagnosis.

Noninvasive evaluation of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery with multislice CT in patients with chronic mesenteric ischaemia.

Purpose: This study sought to assess the role of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) in patients with suspected chronic mesenteric ischaemia (CMI).

Materials And Methods: Forty-five patients (29 men; mean age 68) underwent MSCT angiography of the abdomen for suspected CMI (main clinical finding: postprandial abdominal pain). The scan protocol was detectors/collimation 16/0.

Influence of heart rate in the selection of the optimal reconstruction window in routine clinical multislice coronary angiography.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to assess the influence of heart rate on the selection of the optimal reconstruction window with 40-slice multidetector-row computed tomography (40-MDCT) coronary angiography.

Materials And Methods: We studied 170 patients (114 men, age 60+/-11.3 years) with suspected or known coronary artery disease with 40-MDCT coronary angiography.

Predictive value of chest CT in patients with cystic fibrosis: a single-center 10-year experience.

Objective: The objective of our study was to assess the accuracy of one of the most used scoring systems, the Bhalla scoring system, in the detection of lung impairment in patients with cystic fibrosis and in the prediction of cystic fibrosis progression.

Materials And Methods: From the database of our center, 300 CT examinations performed between 1991 and 2001 were reviewed. Pulmonary function tests performed the same day as radiologic assessment were available.

Voxel-based analysis of R2* maps in the healthy human brain.

Purpose: To develop a voxel-based analysis of an R2* map of healthy human brain that is automatic, reproducible, and realizable in a single examination on a 3T MR imager. Such a tool could be useful to measure iron accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases.

Materials And Methods: In all, 18 healthy subjects underwent MR imaging at a field strength of 3T: 1) six consecutive T2*-weighted gradient-echo volumes were acquired using a segmented echo-planar imaging sequence and 2) a conventional dual-echo turbo spin echo sequence was also applied to acquire T2-weighted images.

Three-dimensional quantitative assessment of lung parenchyma in cystic fibrosis: preliminary results.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions and quantitative analysis of the volume of each component of the lung with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two patients with CF (mean age 17+/-8 years) were included in the study. The patients underwent an unenhanced single-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) chest scan with the following parameters: collimation 3 mm, table feed 6 mm x rot(-1), reconstruction interval 1 mm, soft tissue reconstruction kernel.

Multimodal fMRI tractography in normal subjects and in clinically recovered traumatic brain injury patients.

In this study, we defined an operator-independent protocol for reconstructing the anatomical connections originating from fMRI activations in order to demonstrate that results obtained with this protocol are affected by alterations of functional activations. Seven healthy volunteers and two patients who sustained traumatic brain injury underwent an fMRI with a finger tapping task and a DTI scan. Cortical fMRI activations were used directly as seed mask for tractography for the reconstruction of individual motor pathways.

Coronary artery anomalies: incidence, pathophysiology, clinical relevance and role of diagnostic imaging.

Conventional coronary angiography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of coronary artery anomalies. Coronary anomalies are relatively rare findings in patients undergoing conventional coronary angiography for suspected obstructive coronary artery disease. Recently, the increasing performance of diagnostic techniques, such as electron beam tomography (EBT), magnetic resonance (MR) and, more recently, multislice computed tomography (MSCT), has enabled their application to cardiac imaging.

Imaging nervous pathways with MR tractography.

This paper describes the state of the art of tractography, a technique which enables the virtual reconstruction of axon bundles of the central nervous system using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images. This technique has raised enthusiasm and expectations among specialists because it is the only non-invasive method for studying the three-dimensional architecture of axonal fibres in vivo. Tractography is a new technique used to assess the anatomy of the central nervous system, and it will be available for routine clinical use in the future.

Non-invasive evaluation of coronary calcium.

With the increasing diffusion of 4-row,16-row and 64-row multislice computed tomography scanners, widespread coronary calcium scoring has become possible in Europe. This relatively easy-to-perform test has a high sensitivity and low specificity for the detection of significant coronary artery stenosis, and may have an important role in the risk stratification for future coronary artery events in selected groups of patients, such as those immediately at risk. This study reviews the techniques available for coronary calcium scoring (electron beam tomography and multislice computed tomography) with their respective protocols, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.