Table of Contents
Perspectives
Review Article
Editorial Perspectives
Commentary
General Contents
- Quantifying Intracranial Plaque Permeability with Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI: A Pilot Study
The purpose of this study was to use DCE MR imaging to quantify the contrast permeability of intracranial atherosclerotic disease plaques in 10 symptomatic patients and to compare these parameters against existing markers of plaque volatility using black-blood MR imaging pulse sequences. Ktrans and fractional plasma volume (Vp) measurements were higher in plaques versus healthy white matter and similar or less than values in the choroid plexus. Only Ktrans correlated significantly with time from symptom onset. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging parameters were not found to correlate significantly with intraplaque enhancement or hyperintensity. The authors suggest that Ktrans may be an independent imaging biomarker of acute and symptom-associated pathologic changes in intracranial atherosclerotic disease plaques.
- Synthetic MRI in the Detection of Multiple Sclerosis Plaques
In this retrospective study, synthetic T2-weighted, FLAIR, double inversion recovery, and phase-sensitive inversion recovery images were produced in 12 patients with MS after quantification of T1 and T2 values and proton density. Double inversion recovery images were optimized for each patient by adjusting the TI. The number of visible plaques was determined by a radiologist for a set of these 4 types of synthetic MR images and a set of conventional T1-weighted inversion recovery, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images. Conventional 3D double inversion recovery and other available images were used as the criterion standard. Synthetic MR imaging enabled detection of more MS plaques than conventional MR imaging in a comparable acquisition time (approximately 7 minutes). The contrast for MS plaques on synthetic double inversion recovery images was better than on conventional double inversion recovery images.
- Endovascular Stroke Treatment of Nonagenarians
The purpose of this study was the evaluation of procedural and outcome data of patients 90 years of age or older undergoing endovascular stroke treatment. The authors retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected data of 29 patients (mean age 91.9 years) in whom endovascular stroke treatment was performed between January 2011 and January 2016 (from a cohort of 615 patients). Successful recanalization (TICI % 2b) was achieved in 22 patients (75.9%). In 9 patients, an NIHSS improvement ≥ 10 points was noted between admission and discharge. After 3 months, 17.2% of the patients had an mRS of 0-2. Despite high mortality rates (∼45%) and moderate overall outcome, 17.2% of the patients achieved mRS 0-2 or prestroke mRS, and no serious procedure-related complications occurred.
- Ascending and Descending Thoracic Vertebral Arteries
The authors report the angiographic anatomy and clinical significance of 9 cases of descending and 2 cases of ascending thoracic vertebral arteries. Located within the upper costotransverse spaces, ascending and descending thoracic vertebral arteries may have important implications during spine interventional or surgical procedures. They frequently provide radiculomedullary or bronchial branches, so they can also be implicated in spinal cord ischemia, as a supply of vascular malformations, or be a source of hemoptysis.
- Microstructure of the Default Mode Network in Preterm Infants
A cohort of 44 preterm infants underwent T1WI, resting-state fMRI, and DTI at 3T, including 21 infants with brain injuries and 23 infants with normal-appearing structural imaging as controls. Neurodevelopment was evaluated with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 12 months' adjusted age. Results showed decreased fractional anisotropy and elevated radial diffusivity values of the cingula in the preterm infants with brain injuries compared with controls. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development cognitive scores were significantly associated with cingulate fractional anisotropy. The authors suggest that the microstructural properties of interconnecting axonal pathways within the default mode network are of critical importance in the early neurocognitive development of infants.
- MRI Atlas-Based Measurement of Spinal Cord Injury Predicts Outcome in Acute Flaccid Myelitis
Using the open source platform, the “Spinal Cord Toolbox,” the authors sought to correlate measures of GM, WM, and cross-sectional area pathology on T2 MR imaging with motor disability in 9 patients with acute flaccid myelitis. Proportion of GM metrics at the center axial section significantly correlated with measures of motor impairment upon admission and at 3-month follow-up. The proportion of GM extracted across the full lesion segment significantly correlated with initial motor impairment. This is the first atlas-based study to correlate clinical outcomes with segmented measures of T2 signal abnormality in the spinal cord.
