Predictors of Outcomes After Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy.

Background: Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy (FUS-T) is an emerging treatment for essential tremor (ET).

Objective: To determine the predictors of outcomes after FUS-T.

Methods: Two treatment groups were analyzed: 75 ET patients enrolled in the pivotal trial, between 2013 and 2015; and 114 patients enrolled in the postpivotal trials, between 2015 and 2016.

Mismatch between TOF MR Angiography and CT Angiography of the Middle Cerebral Artery may be a Critical Sign in Cerebrovascular Dynamics.

Purpose: Although time-of-flight (TOF)-magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) can clearly depict intracranial arteries, the arterial flow of middle cerebral artery (MCA) is occasionally not detected. We evaluated this phenomenon with reference to cerebrovascular dynamics.

Materials And Methods: Seventeen patients with suspected occlusion of MCA or internal carotid artery on TOF-MRA were enrolled.

ELAPSS score for prediction of risk of growth of unruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Objective: To develop a risk score that estimates 3-year and 5-year absolute risks for aneurysm growth.

Methods: From 10 cohorts of patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms and follow-up imaging, we pooled individual data on sex, population, age, hypertension, history of subarachnoid hemorrhage, and aneurysm location, size, aspect ratio, and shape but not on smoking during follow-up and family history of intracranial aneurysms in 1,507 patients with 1,909 unruptured intracranial aneurysms and used aneurysm growth as outcome. With aneurysm-based multivariable Cox regression analysis, we determined predictors for aneurysm growth, which were presented as a risk score to calculate 3-year and 5-year risks for aneurysm growth by risk factor status.

Cross-sectional study of equol producer status and cognitive impairment in older adults.

Aim: It is well known that consumption of isoflavones reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the effectiveness of isoflavones in preventing dementia is controversial. A number of intervention studies have produced conflicting results.

Skin Autofluorescence Examination as a Diagnostic Tool for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Healthy People.

Background: Accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. Tissue AGE accumulation can be estimated using the relative simple noninvasive measurement of skin autofluorescence (SAF), a method based on the fluorescent properties of some AGEs. However, possible involvement of tissue AGE accumulation in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has not been fully investigated.

Plasma thrombin-cleaved osteopontin as a potential biomarker of acute atherothrombotic ischemic stroke.

We investigated whether thrombin-cleaved osteopontin N-terminal is useful as a blood biomarker of acute atherothrombotic ischemic stroke. Acute ischemic stroke patients were prospectively evaluated with brain magnetic resonance imaging and cardiac evaluations for etiological diagnosis according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification. They were divided into the atherothrombotic and non-atherothrombotic groups.

Initial experience in evaluating the prevalence of unruptured intracranial aneurysms detected on 3-tesla MRI.

Background: Given the very poor outcome of ruptured intracranial aneurysms, detection and treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms by a less invasive examination have become important. For this purpose, 3-tesla (3T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most suitable candidate, owing to its high signal/noise ratio and frequency resolution. However, few reports have investigated the prevalence of intracranial aneurysms with high-tesla MRI.

[Assessment of hemodynamics of meningioma with dynamic MR imaging].

Dynamic MR imaging provides hemodynamic information about normal and pathologic tissue of the brain. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of dynamic MR imaging in the assessment of tumor vascularity and the tumor tissue blood flow of meningiomas. We studied 13 patients with meningiomas using dynamic spin-echo MR imaging.

[Usefulness of time-resolved projection MRA on evaluation of hemodynamics in cerebral occlusive diseases].

The usefulness for evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics using time-resolved projection MRA was studied in normal volunteers and patients of cerebrovascular diseases. Six normal volunteers and ten patients with cerebrovascular occlusive diseases including 6 of IC occlusion and 4 of post EC/IC bypass surgery underwent time-resolved projection MRA on a 1.5 T clinical MRI system.

[A case of adult moyamoya disease progressed after vascular reconstructive surgery].

We report an adult onset patient with moyamoya disease showing acute progress after contralateral vascular reconstructive surgery. A 47-year-old female developed cerebral infarction in the left corona radiata. A magnetic resonance (MR) angiography and a cerebral angiogram revealed severe stenosis extending from the terminal portion of left internal carotid artery (ICA) to the M1 portion.

[Evaluation of hemodynamics in cerebral infarction using MRI with FAIR sequence].

In comparison with 99mTc-ECD SPECT, the usefulness for evaluation of cerebral blood flow by the perfusion images using MRI with FAIR sequence was studied in ischemic stroke patients. Among 27 cases, 15 patients showed lacunar infarctions and 12 patients showed cortical infarctions determined by T2 weighted MR images. FAIR images were obtained as single images at the slice position running through the basal ganglia or corona radiata.

Transvenous embolization of carotid-cavernous sinus fistula associated with a primitive trigeminal artery--case report.

A 58-year-old female presented with right conjunctival chemosis and right abducens nerve paresis. Cerebral angiography demonstrated a right carotid-cavernous sinus fistula associated with persistent primitive trigeminal artery. The fistula was treated by introducing detachable coils through the transvenous approach, as the detachable balloon was not available.

Changes in visibility of intracranial arteries on MRA with normal ageing.

We investigated age-related changes in the visibility of intracranial arteries on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and the influence of risk factors for stroke. We studied 230 adult patients without specific neurological deficits. MRA was performed using the three-dimensional time-of-flight technique with a spoiled gradient-recalled acquisition sequence.

[Changes in visualization of cerebral MR angiography with normal aging].

MR angiograms from 200 neurologically normal subjects aged 30 to 79 years were analyzed to assess the influence of aging and hypertension on the degree of the--visualization of the cerebral arteries. The degree of MR visualization of the cerebral arteries, including the IC, M 1, and distal MCA, was evaluated on a 4-degree scale. IC and M 1 differ in appearance.

Magnetic resonance angiography in patients with acute stroke treated by local thrombolysis.

Although magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is accepted for showing chronic intracranial stenotic or occlusive lesions, the method has not been practically examined in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia. We carried out three-dimensional time-of-flight MRA in six patients with acute ischaemia treated by local thrombolysis, and compared the findings with those of digital subtraction angiography (DSA). In all patients, MRA before thrombolysis clearly demonstrated the occluded arteries, which corresponded precisely to those shown by DSA.

[Functional MRI of higher brain function with gradient echo on clinical MR unit].

MR imaging of brain function has been successfully performed at 1.5 T clinical MR unit. In the early studies, functional MRI were performed with simple stimulation such as visual and motor.

Primary spinal chondrosarcoma localized in the cervical spinal canal and intervertebral foramen--case report.

A 48-year-old male presented with a very rare case of spinal chondrosarcoma localized in the cervical spinal canal and intervertebral foramen, but without marked destruction of the vertebral column. Spinal chondrosarcoma is characterized by radiological evidence of destruction of the surrounding bone structure and mottled calcification. Magnetic resonance imaging was useful in the diagnosis and determination of the extent of this spinal chondrosarcoma.

Development of the new cerebral angio-CT technique and magnetic resonance angio-imaging.

Using dynamic scanning, multiple cerebral computed angiotomography scans were obtained after a single bolus injection of contrast medium. The following three different techniques and their clinical applications were investigated. 1) Overlapping scanning was applied to detect unruptured intracranial aneurysms.