AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
-
Presurgical sensorimotor mapping with functional MR imaging is gaining acceptance in clinical practice; however, to our knowledge, its therapeutic efficacy has not been assessed in a sizable group of patients. Our goal was to identify how preoperative sensorimotor functional studies were used to guide the treatment of neuro-oncologic and epilepsy surgery patients. ⋯ Preoperative functional MR imaging is useful to clinicians at three key stages in the preoperative clinical management paradigm of a substantial percentage of patients who are being considered for resective tumor or epilepsy surgery.
-
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Sep 1999
Diffusion-weighted MR imaging in a rat model of syringomyelia after excitotoxic spinal cord injury.
Recent experimental data have shown that an increase of excitatory amino acids and the initiation of inflammatory responses within the injured spinal cord may play a role in post-traumatic syringomyelia. The purpose of this study was to determine whether diffusion-weighted MR imaging with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps could provide earlier evidence of spinal cord cavitation in a rat model of syringomyelia than available with conventional MR imaging. ⋯ In an animal model of syringomyelia, diffusion-weighted imaging with ADC maps detected cystic lesions within spinal cord gray matter before they were seen on conventional T1- and T2-weighted images.
-
The most common cause of spinal cord disease among patients with AIDS or those infected with HIV-1 is AIDS-associated myelopathy. The purpose of this study was to determine the MR characteristics of the spinal cord in this patient population and to correlate these findings with the clinical severity of myelopathy. ⋯ MR findings in the spinal cord are abnormal in the majority of patients with AIDS-associated myelopathy, typically showing spinal cord atrophy, with or without intrinsic cord signal abnormality. Patients with moderate to severe myelopathy have an increased frequency of spinal cord abnormalities, but a definite correlation between clinical severity of myelopathy and extent of MR abnormalities remains to be established.
-
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Sep 1999
Comparative StudyComparison of transcranial color-coded duplex sonography and cranial CT measurements for determining third ventricle midline shift in space-occupying stroke.
Transcranial color-coded duplex sonography (TCCS) allows the noninvasive, easily reproducible measurement of midline dislocation (MLD) of the third ventricle in space-occupying stroke, even in critically ill patients. However, the method has been validated only in a small number of subjects. The aim of this study was to test the method under clinical conditions. ⋯ TCCS provides a noninvasive, easily reproducible and reliable method for monitoring MLD of the third ventricle in stroke patients. It is particularly suitable for critically ill patients who are not fit for transportation.
-
Despite ongoing clinical suspicion regarding the relationship between sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction and lower extremity symptoms, there is a paucity of scientific literature addressing this topic. The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of contrast extravasation during SIJ arthrography and postarthrography CT in patients with lower back pain and to determine whether there are pathways of communication between the SIJ and nearby neural structures. ⋯ Three pathways between the SIJ and neural structures exist.