Publications by authors named "Nascene D"

Background And Purpose: Inter-hypothalamic adhesions (IHAs) are parenchymal tissue bridges traversing the third ventricle, previously reported only in the pediatric population. We aim to understand the prevalence of IHA in the adult population, assess their size and location, and ultimately investigate whether IHA volumes correlate with age.

Materials And Methods: Patients who underwent routine high-resolution 3D T2WI MRI studies of the temporal bone/internal auditory canal at an otolaryngology clinic between 2008 and 2014 were consecutively selected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Medical devices, 3D printing, and virtual reality are becoming essential in healthcare for better patient results.
  • Physicians face clinical challenges but often lack the training needed to create patient-focused innovations.
  • Hands-on clerkships were introduced to help physicians build necessary skills in emerging medical technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Interhypothalamic adhesions (IHAs) have been reported only in the pediatric population, with unknown prevalence and histological composition. We aim to demonstrate their prevalence, assess their persistence through longitudinal imaging, classify IHAs by anatomical distribution, explore their structure, and report associated pathologies.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on consecutive pediatric brain MRI studies obtained between January 2012, and December 2013.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Gibbus deformity has been documented as a common musculoskeletal abnormality in mucopolysaccharidosis type I (Hurler syndrome, MPS IH), and its recognition often leads to the diagnosis of MPS IH. While the incidence has been described, the progression of gibbus deformities is not well known. Here we describe the natural history of gibbus deformity in a single center patient population using serial spinal MRI scans.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (C-ALD) is a severe inflammatory demyelinating disease that must be treated at an early stage to prevent permanent brain injury and neurocognitive decline. In standard clinical practice, C-ALD lesions are detected and characterized by a neuroradiologist reviewing anatomical MRI scans. We aimed to assess whether diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to the presence and severity of C-ALD lesions and to investigate associations with neurocognitive outcomes after hematopoietic cell therapy (HCT).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A 9-year-old boy with adrenoleukodystrophy due to ABCD1 whole-gene deletion was diagnosed with active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy characterized by demyelination and gadolinium enhancement on brain MRI. He underwent hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) with autologous CD34 cells transduced with an ABCD1-expressing lentiviral vector (eli-cel [elivaldogene autotemcel]) as part of the ALD-104 clinical trial. Fifty days after HCT, the patient's MRI showed gadolinium resolution; the whole-blood vector copy number (VCN) was 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The earliest sign of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) is adrenal insufficiency, marked by high levels of ACTH and low cortisol.
  • High ACTH levels lead to increased endothelial permeability and VEGF secretion, while a specific endothelial cell line showed heightened sensitivity to these factors.
  • Treatment with bevacizumab, along with dexamethasone and ruxolitinib, showed some improvement in MRI results for six boys with advanced CALD, although their symptoms continued to worsen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Craniovertebral junction (CVJ) abnormalities are common and well documented in mucopolysaccharidosis type I-Hurler syndrome (MPS IH), often causing severe spinal canal narrowing. However, the requirement for surgical decompression and/or fusion is uncommon. Although hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) has been shown to prolong the lives of patients with MPS IH, its effect in halting or reversing musculoskeletal abnormalities is less clear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Partial trisomy of the long arm of chromosome 17 (17q) is a rare but clinically recognized syndrome that involves facial dysmorphisms, skeletal abnormalities, and global developmental delay, as well as various reports of cardiovascular, renal, and central nervous system abnormalities. This report presents a novel neuroradiologic finding of diffuse enlarged, tortuous cortical veins with physiological antegrade flow in a child with a microduplication of the distal end of 17q. To our knowledge, this finding has not been described previously.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates brain morphology in late-onset Tay-Sachs disease (LOTS), focusing on cerebellar atrophy and other morphological changes using advanced neuroimaging techniques.
  • Fourteen LOTS patients showed significant cerebellar atrophy, particularly in lobules V and VI, along with atrophy in critical areas for motor control, including thalamic nuclei and motor cortex.
  • Results indicate that cerebellar and motor region atrophy correlates with speech and motor function impairments, suggesting central motor circuit abnormalities in LOTS patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mucopolysaccharidosis I-Hurler (MPSIH) syndrome is the most severe form of a group of hereditary lysosomal diseases. This study aims to describe previously unreported common cranial findings of sigmoid sinus stenosis with prominent emissary veins in MPSIH. A retrospective review was conducted of 66 patients with MPSIH who were treated at our institution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Posterior fossa "horns" caused by internal hypertrophy of the occipitomastoid sutures are one of the more recently defined cranial abnormalities described in mucopolysaccharidoses, especially in Hurler Syndrome. However, details of this finding, including the development and natural history, are not well-understood. Two hundred eighty-six brain MR imaging studies of 61 patients with mucopolysaccharidosis I-Hurler syndrome treated at single institution between 1996 and 2015 were studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate apparent pituitary gland enlargement in patients with Sanfilippo syndrome observed at our institution.

Methods: Twelve patients with Sanfilippo syndrome with brain MRI were studied. Anterior, posterior, and whole pituitary volumes were estimated using the prolate ellipsoid volume calculation method (π/6 × L × W × H).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To report 3 cases of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) in children conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg donation.

Design: A case report.

Patients: Patients aged 4-5 years old, evaluated by the University of Minnesota Leukodystrophy Center, who were diagnosed with ALD after being conceived by IVF with oocytes provided by the same donor.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hydrocephalus is one of the earliest manifestations of mucopolysaccharidosis I-Hurler syndrome, and delayed treatment of hydrocephalus can lead to neurocognitive delay or even death. Optic nerve sheath diameter has been established as a noninvasive measurement to detect elevated intracranial pressure. This study aimed to establish correlations between optic nerve sheath diameter and opening pressure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare conventional T1 TSE with MPRAGE for enhancement detection in cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD).

Materials And Methods: Contrast-enhanced T1 TSE and MPRAGE sequences of 34 CALD patients demonstrating enhancement were evaluated. Contrast ratios were calculated by drawing ROIs to the most enhancing part of demyelination and normal-appearing deep white matter on both T1 TSE and MPRAGE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The cranial epidural space (ES) is a potential space and is not generally recognized unless there is underlying pathology. With MRI in newborns, we have frequently observed T2 hyperintense thickening of the ES posterior to the confluence of sinuses, also referred to as "torcular pseudomass" (TP). We aim to identify the frequency of TP and possible associations with delivery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an X-linked peroxisomal disease caused by a mutation in the ABCD1 gene, producing mutations in the very long chain fatty acid transporter, ALD protein. Cerebral ALD (cALD) is a severe phenotype of ALD with neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Elevated levels of Glycoprotein Nonmetastatic Melanoma Protein B (GNMPB) have been recently documented in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction/aims: Patients undergoing nusinersen treatment for spinal muscular atrophy are subject to measurements of platelet count and urine protein before each injection due to concern for platelet depletion and renal dysfunction according to the prescribing information. These tests may be uncomfortable or inconvenient and may cause delays in treatment. However, it is still unclear whether these values have been significantly affected by nusinersen treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) is a devastating, demyelinating neuroinflammatory manifestation found in up to 40% of young males with an inherited mutation in , the causative gene in adrenoleukodystrophy. The search for biomarkers which correlate to CALD disease burden and respond to intervention has long been sought after. We used the Olink Proximity Extension Assay (Uppsala, Sweden) to explore the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of young males with CALD followed by correlative analysis with plasma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the most common variant of childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD), demyelinating brain lesions are distributed predominately in parieto-occipital white matter. Less frequently, lesions first develop in frontal white matter. This matched cohort study examined whether outcomes after standard treatment with hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) differ in patients with early stage frontal lesions as compared to parieto-occipital lesions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to investigate possible signal changes in the dentate nucleus (DN) on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) after administration of gadobutrol in a pediatric cohort. Total of 50 pediatric patients (mean age: 6.2 ± 4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Posterior spinal epidural space (PSES) is a fat-containing space. We noted numerous spinal MRIs demonstrating T2-hyperintense thickening of the cervical/thoracic PSES in early newborns, resembling epidural edema. Our aim is to describe the appearance/frequency of this finding and explore any associations with delivery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF