Added value of 18Fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/MRI for evaluation of failed back surgery syndrome: comparison with non-contrast MRI.

Objectives: Given increasing research suggesting the utility of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in identifying the pain generator of low back pain, our study aims to assess its effectiveness in evaluating the source of pain in patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) by comparing the performance of fluorine-18-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/MRI with conventional MRI.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with FBSS who underwent F-FDG PET and MRI of the lumbar vertebrae and lower extremities for undetermined sources of pain. We assessed 1) The diagnostic reliability and efficacy of MRI and F-FDG PET/MRI according to correct differential diagnosis, affected level, and affected side of the pain source compared to the findings of selective root or peripheral nerve block or revision lumbar spine surgery; and 2) The association between standardized uptake value (SUV) and standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) threshold and accuracy of the suspected pathology on F-FDG PET/MRI.

The Association of Inflammatory Related Markers with the Prognosis in Elderly Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy, especially among older adults. Inflammation has been implicated in cancer progression, making inflammatory indices potential prognostic markers. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte/C-reactive protein ratio (LCR), and C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in older adults with CRC.

Colo-enteric fistula associated with diffuse large B cell lymphoma that resulted in gastrointestinal bleeding: A case report and literature review.

Introduction And Importance: The most common symptoms of primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma are non-specific, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and abdominal pain. The rare acute symptoms include bowel obstruction, intussusception, and perforation. Primary small bowel lymphoma accounts for the smallest proportion of all GI malignancies.

Changes in sensorimotor-related thalamic diffusion properties and cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics predict gait responses to tap test in idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus.

Objectives: To compare diffusion tensor (DT)-derived indices from the thalamic nuclei and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamic parameters for the prediction of gait responsiveness to the CSF tap test in early iNPH patients.

Methods: In this study, 22 patients with iNPH and 16 normal controls were enrolled with the approval of an institutional review board. DT imaging and phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging were performed in patients and controls to determine DT-related indices of the sensorimotor-related thalamic nuclei and CSF hydrodynamics.

Histogram analysis of T2*-based pharmacokinetic imaging in cerebral glioma grading.

Background And Objective: To investigate the feasibility of histogram analysis of the T2*-based permeability parameter volume transfer constant (K) for glioma grading and to explore the diagnostic performance of the histogram analysis of K and blood plasma volume (v).

Methods: We recruited 31 and 11 patients with high- and low-grade gliomas, respectively. The histogram parameters of K and v, derived from the first-pass pharmacokinetic modeling based on the T2* dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2* DSC-PW-MRI) from the entire tumor volume, were evaluated for differentiating glioma grades.

Knee subchondral bone perfusion and its relationship to marrow fat and trabeculation on multi-parametric MRI and micro-CT in experimental CKD.

The pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is multifactorial. In the progression of CKD arthropathy, arteriosclerosis may alter the knee subchondral bone marrow by altering blood flow through the bone vasculature. Herein, multi-parametric MRI assessment, including dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), MRI T2*, contrast enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA), and micro-CT were applied in a rodent nephrectomy model to: 1) investigate the blood perfusion of subchondral bone marrow and its relationship to fat water content and trabeculation pattern in CKD and 2) demonstrate the feasibility of using multi-parametric MRI parameters as imaging biomarkers to evaluate the disease's progression.

Early white matter injuries in patients with acute carbon monoxide intoxication: A tract-specific diffusion kurtosis imaging study and STROBE compliant article.

Evaluation of acute white matter injuries caused by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can be limited by conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. We aim to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for early detection of white matter alterations in patients with acute CO intoxication.A total of 30 subjects including 15 acute CO patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study.

Early Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Patients With Neuropsychological Impairment Are Associated With Increased Fractional Anisotropy in the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the reactive changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived diffusion metrics of the anterior thalamic nucleus (AN), a relaying center for the Papez circuit, in early idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients with memory impairment, as well as its correlation with the patients' neuropsychological performances. In total, 28 probable iNPH patients with symptom onset within 1 year and 17 control subjects were prospectively recruited between 2010 and 2013 for this institutional review board-approved study. Imaging studies including DTI and a neuropsychological assessment battery were performed in all subjects.

Middle Cerebral Artery Calcification: Association With Ischemic Stroke.

Calcification of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is uncommon in the healthy elderly. Whether calcification of the MCA is associated with cerebral ischemic stroke remains undetermined. We intended to investigate the association using Agatston calcium scoring of the MCA.

High Agatston Calcium Score of Intracranial Carotid Artery: A Significant Risk Factor for Cognitive Impairment.

The effect of intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) calcification on cognitive impairment is uncertain. Our objective was to investigate whether intracranial ICA calcification is a significant cognitive predictor for cognitive impairment. Global cognition and degrees of intracranial ICA calcification of 579 subjects were assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Agatston calcium scoring method, respectively.

Change in T2* relaxation time of Hoffa fat pad correlates with histologic change in a rat anterior cruciate ligament transection model.

The Hoffa fat pad (infrapatellar fat pad) is a source of post-traumatic anterior knee pain, and Hoffa disease is a syndrome leading to chronic inflammation of the fat pad. Herein, change in T2* relaxation time of the fat pad was measured in a rodent anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLX) model in order to (i) examine the causal relationship of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency and Hoffa disease and (ii) demonstrate the feasibility of using T2* as an imaging biomarker to monitor disease progression. Three groups of male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 6 each group), received either (i) no intervention; (ii) sham surgery at the right knee; or (iii) right ACLX.

Advanced MR imaging of gliomas: an update.

Recent advances in the treatment of cerebral gliomas have increased the demands on noninvasive neuroimaging for the diagnosis, therapeutic planning, tumor monitoring, and patient outcome prediction. In the meantime, improved magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques have shown much potentials in evaluating the key pathological features of the gliomas, including cellularity, invasiveness, mitotic activity, angiogenesis, and necrosis, hence, further shedding light on glioma grading before treatment. In this paper, an update of advanced MR imaging techniques is reviewed, and their potential roles as biomarkers of tumor grading are discussed.

Effects of microvascular permeability changes on contrast-enhanced T1 and pharmacokinetic MR imagings after ischemia.

Background And Purpose: Brain enhancement on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CET1-WI) after ischemic stroke is generally accepted as an indicator of the blood-brain barrier disruption. However, this phenomenon usually starts to become visible at the subacute phase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time-course profiles of K(trans), cerebral blood volume (vp), and CET1-WI with early detection of blood-brain barrier changes on K(trans) maps and their role for prediction of subsequent hemorrhagic transformation in acute middle cerebral arterial infarct.

T2 values of posterior horns of knee menisci in asymptomatic subjects.

Purpose: The magnetic resonance (MR) T2 value of cartilage is a reliable indicator of tissue properties and therefore may be used as an objective diagnostic tool in early meniscal degeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate age, gender, location, and zonal differences in MR T2 value of the posterior horns of knee menisci in asymptomatic subjects.

Methods: Sixty asymptomatic volunteers (30 men and 30 women) were enrolled and divided into three different age groups: 20-34, 35-49 and 50-70 years.

Delayed parkinsonism after CO intoxication: evaluation of the substantia nigra with inversion-recovery MR imaging.

Purpose: To quantitatively investigate signal alterations of the substantia nigra in patients with delayed parkinsonism following CO intoxication, as seen on gray matter (GM)-suppressed inversion-recovery (IR) magnetic resonance (MR) images.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study was approved by the local institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Thirteen patients with delayed onset of CO-induced parkinsonism (nine men and four women; mean age, 40.

Potential long-term effects of MDMA on the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit: a proton MR spectroscopy and diffusion-tensor imaging study.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as "ecstasy") on the alterations of brain metabolites and anatomic tissue integrity related to the function of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit by using proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy and diffusion-tensor MR imaging.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by a local institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Thirty-one long-term (>1 year) MDMA users and 33 healthy subjects were enrolled.