The Neuroimaging Spectrum of Septum Posticum Derangement and Associated Thoracic Myelopathy.

Background: Arachnoid cysts and meningeal membranes are among the differential diagnostic considerations of extra-medullary causes of thoracic myelopathy. In this case series of 7 patients, we present compressive meningeal membranes mimicking dorsal arachnoid cyst. The propensity of the meningeal membranes for the dorsal aspect of upper thoracic spine may reflect derangements of the septum posticum.

Application of basic physics principles to clinical neuroradiology: differentiating artifacts from true pathology on MRI.

Objective: This article outlines artifactual findings commonly encountered in neuroradiologic MRI studies and offers clues to differentiate them from true pathology on the basis of their physical properties. Basic MR physics concepts are used to shed light on the causes of these artifacts.

Conclusion: MRI is one of the most commonly used techniques in neuroradiology.

Application of basic principles of physics to head and neck MR angiography: troubleshooting for artifacts.

Neurovascular imaging studies are routinely used for the assessment of headaches and changes in mental status, stroke workup, and evaluation of the arteriovenous structures of the head and neck. These imaging studies are being performed with greater frequency as the aging population continues to increase. Magnetic resonance (MR) angiographic imaging techniques are helpful in this setting.

T2 hyperintensity of medial lemniscus: higher threshold application to ROI measurements is more accurate in predicting small vessel disease.

Background: Medial lemniscus T2 hyperintensity (MLH) has been recently demonstrated as potential imaging marker for small vessel disease (SVD). Our purpose in this study is to improve accuracy of regions of interest (ROI) analysis for this imaging finding.

Methods And Methods: Two neuroradiologists retrospectively reviewed 103 consecutive outpatient brain MRI.

Sterile brain abscess due to juvenile xanthogranuloma: DWI characteristics.

Juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG) is a disorder of non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis that usually displays as a self-limiting course in children. Rare systemic involvement implies poor prognosis. Although conventional and spectroscopic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of JXG in CNS have been described, diffusion imaging of intracranial JXG has not been reported.

T2 hyperintensity of medial lemniscus is an indicator of small-vessel disease.

Objective: Small-vessel disease is a common MRI finding that can be difficult to differentiate from other white matter (WM) diseases because of the lack of a specific pattern of brain involvement. The purpose of our study was to evaluate medial lemniscus hyperintensity seen on FLAIR images as an imaging marker for small-vessel disease.

Materials And Methods: Two blinded neuroradiologists retrospectively reviewed 103 consecutive outpatient brain MRI studies.

Prospective evaluation of the role of atherosclerosis on cerebral atrophy: pilot study.

Purpose: Our purpose was to study the association between atherosclerosis measured by arterial calcium on computed tomography (CT) and cerebral atrophy demonstrated by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: IRB approved this prospective study. Twenty-one consecutive patients with acute stroke-like symptoms who are scheduled to have brain MRI were recruited on a voluntary basis.

Unusual case of 2 renal cell carcinoma metastases ipsilateral to an occluded internal carotid artery.

Hemodynamic factors may play a role in the seeding and subsequent growth of cerebral metastasis. The authors present a case with 2 foci of cerebral metastasis in the same vascular territory ipsilateral to an occluded internal carotid artery. A 65-year-old man with chronic left frontal lobe infarct and left internal carotid artery occlusion was diagnosed with 2 large hemorrhagic metastases in the left middle cerebral artery territory.

Nerve atrophy in severe trigeminal neuralgia: noninvasive confirmation at MR imaging--initial experience.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the size of the trigeminal nerve on magnetic resonance (MR) images of patients with unilateral trigeminal neuralgia.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent was waived for this HIPAA-compliant study. The sizes of the trigeminal nerves in 31 patients (18 men and 13 women; mean age, 68 years; age range, 44-84 years) with clinically confirmed intractable unilateral trigeminal neuralgia were measured before treatment with gamma knife radiosurgery.

Association between neurovascular contact on MRI and response to gamma knife radiosurgery in trigeminal neuralgia.

Treatment with gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) provides adequate short-term pain control in about 70% of the patients with intractable trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether the presence of neurovascular contact (NVC) at the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve on pre-gamma knife MR imaging predicts an increased likelihood of an adequate response to GKRS. We studied 40 consecutive patients who underwent GKRS for treatment of intractable TN.

Rapid development of optic glioma in a patient with hybrid phakomatosis: neurofibromatosis type 1 and tuberous sclerosis.

Increased propensity for tumor formation in neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis exists because of defective tumor-suppressor genes. Although different tumor-suppressor genes may be involved in neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis, at the cellular level these genes share rather common enzymatic pathways. We believe these genetic malfunctions have resulted in a cumulative or additive effect for rapid growth of optic glioma in the following unusual case that has hybrid phakomatosis.