Neurological symptoms in pediatric abusive head trauma: Multi-center data for clinical forensic medicine.

Central nervous system-associated lesions can frequently be found in abusive head trauma (AHT) cases. Since there are frequently no visible signs of injury on the body surface, the diagnosis of AHT can be challenging. In particular, if the affected child shows only isolated neurological symptoms, these are often misinterpreted as a minor illness.

Temporal development of subdural collections in infants with confessed abusive head trauma: a forensic neuroimaging study.

Objectives: Estimating the age of injury in pediatric abusive head trauma (AHT) is a challenging task but potentially valuable for the identification of perpetrators. The aims of the study are (1) to describe the temporal development of different imaging features of subdural collections (SDCs), and (2) to provide novel age-diagnostic reference data for forensic-radiological expert reports.

Methods: Using a multi-center approach and a 10-year study period, serial neuroimaging studies of 13 comprehensively investigated AHT cases (8 CT and 26 MRI scans) were analyzed regarding several subdural imaging parameters (SDC appearances, entities, components, and associated findings).

[Red flags for child abuse : Pediatric radiological and forensic aspects].

Clinical Issue: The diagnostics of physical child abuse are usually performed by a multidisciplinary team and frequently represent a clinical challenge. Radiological expertise is particularly important for the recognition of abusive injuries to the skeletal system and the central nervous system. The aim of the article is to give an overview of red flags of child abuse in radiological imaging.

Forensic Diagnostics of the Skeletal Age in the Living - Backgrounds and Methodology.

Background: The expert opinions on forensic age diagnostics requested by state institutions are used to show the exceeding of legally relevant age thresholds, especially the completed 18 year of life. According to the recommendations of the Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics (AGFAD), this requires - among other things - a determination of skeletal age.

Method: Considering recent scientific knowledge, the current conditions and established skeletal age diagnostics methods are presented.

The distal femoral epiphysis in forensic age diagnostics: studies on the evaluation of the ossification process by means of T1- and PD/T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

The age of majority, which corresponds to the age of 18 years in most European countries, plays a crucial role for a large number of legal decisions. Accordingly, an increasing number of requests by authorities to forensic age estimation experts comprise the question of whether the age of 18 years has been reached by an individual. In recent years, novel study data suggested that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee might likewise allow for the determination of majority beyond reasonable doubt.

Fractures and skin lesions in pediatric abusive head trauma: a forensic multi-center study.

Abusive head trauma (AHT) and its most common variant, the shaken baby syndrome (SBS), are predominantly characterized by central nervous system-associated lesions. Relatively little data are available on the value of skeletal and skin injuries for the diagnosis of SBS or AHT. Thus, the present study retrospectively investigated 72 cases of living children diagnosed with the explicit diagnosis of SBS during medico-legal examinations at three German university institutes of legal medicine.

The role of 3DCT for the evaluation of chop injuries in clinical forensic medicine.

As hatchet blows to the human head frequently cause fatal injuries, the forensic examination of survivors with cranial chop injuries is a rare phenomenon in forensic casework. Besides evaluation of clinical records, photographs, and medico-legal physical examination, the analysis and 3-dimensional reconstruction of pre-treatment computed tomography data (3DCT) must be considered an important and indispensable tool for the assessment of those cases because the characteristics of chopping trauma often appear masked or changed by clinical treatment. In the present article, the role of 3DCT for the evaluation of chop wounds in clinical forensic medicine is demonstrated by an illustrative case report of a young man who was attacked with a hatchet.

Non-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the small bowel at 7 Tesla in comparison to 1.5 Tesla: First steps towards clinical application.

Objective: To perform non-enhanced (NE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the small bowel at 7 Tesla (7T) and to compare it with 1.5 Tesla (1.5T).

Circulating U2 small nuclear RNA fragments as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in lung cancer patients.

Purpose: Lung cancer accounts for one in five cancer deaths. Broad screening strategies for high-risk populations are unavailable, and the validation of biomarkers for early cancer detection remains a prime interest. Therefore, we investigated the value of circulating U2 small nuclear RNA fragments (RNU2-1f) as a biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis estimation and treatment monitoring in a large lung cancer cohort.

T1-Weighted Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Small Bowel: Comparison Between 1.5 and 7 T.

Objectives: T1-weighted (T1w) contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the small bowel at 1.5 T magnetic field strength has become a standard technique in investigating diseases of the small bowel. High-field MRI potentially offers improved soft tissue contrast and spatial resolution, providing increased image detail.

Effects of PMA (PHORBOL-12-MYRISTATE-13-ACETATE) on the Developing Rodent Brain.

Perinatal infections have a negative impact on brain development. However, the underlying mechanisms leading to neurological impairment are not completely understood and reliable models of inflammation are urgently needed. Using phorbol-myristate-acetate as an activator of inflammation, we investigated the effect on the developing rodent brain.

Improved detection of inflammatory bowel disease by additional automated motility analysis in magnetic resonance imaging.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the use of automatically generated maps of bowel motility (motility mapping) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) leads to an increased detection rate of inflammatory bowel disease.

Materials And Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with suspected or known inflammatory bowel disease who underwent bowel MRI using a 1.5-T scanner were analyzed retrospectively.

Magnetic resonance colonography including diffusion-weighted imaging in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease: do we really need intravenous contrast?

Objectives: Magnetic resonance colonography (MRC) is a well-accepted, noninvasive imaging modality for the depiction of inflammatory bowel disease. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is very helpful to display inflammatory lesions. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess whether intravenous contrast is needed to depict inflammatory lesions in bowel magnetic resonance imaging if DWI is available.

Motility mapping as evaluation tool for bowel motility: initial results on the development of an automated color-coding algorithm in cine MRI.

Purpose: To develop and implement an automated algorithm for visualizing and quantifying bowel motility using cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: Four healthy volunteers as well as eight patients with suspected or diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) underwent MR examinations on a 1.5T scanner.