Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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Multicenter Study
Prevalence of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis in Caucasians: a prospective, multicenter, transcranial Doppler study.
There are limited data available regarding symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis (SIA) prevalence in Caucasians. We sought to investigate SIA prevalence among Caucasian patients hospitalized with acute cerebral ischemia (ACI) in a prospective, multicenter Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) study. ⋯ SIA was identified in almost 10% of patients admitted with symptoms of ACI. These preliminary findings support further collaborative initiatives among stroke physicians to increase the yield of SIA detection in Caucasian patients with ACI.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Functional imaging of the cerebellum and basal ganglia during predictive motor timing in early Parkinson's disease.
The basal ganglia and the cerebellum have both emerged as important structures involved in the processing of temporal information. ⋯ We conclude that both the cerebellum and striatum are involved in predictive motor timing tasks. The cerebellar activity is associated exclusively with the postponement of action until the right moment, whereas both the cerebellum and striatum are needed for successful adaptation of motor actions from one trial to the next. We found a general ''hypoactivation'' of basal ganglia and cerebellum in early stage PD relative to HC, indicating that even in early stages of the PD there could be functional perturbations in the motor system beyond striatum.
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To examine the distributions of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) observed metabolites in Parkinson's disease (PD) throughout the whole brain. ⋯ PD is associated with widespread alterations of brain metabolite concentrations, with a primary finding of increased creatine. Higher creatine values in our PD sample may reflect greater neuronal energy expenditure early in the disease process that is compensatory. This is the first whole brain MRS study of PD that has examined metabolite changes across a large fraction of the brain volume, including the cortical mantle.
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Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a disabling neurological disorder characterized by inflammatory changes in the spinal cord. We used a semiautomatic technique to quantify spinal cord volume from 3-dimensional MR images of patients with HAM/TSP. ⋯ Semiautomatic spinal cord volume quantification is a sensitive technique for quantifying the extent of spinal cord involvement in HAM/TSP.
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We report the case of a 67-year-old man with repeating cerebral embolism caused by a dolichoectatic right common carotid artery. The patient had a history of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, and a postoperative abdominal aortic aneurysm. He presented with a sudden onset of weakness of the left arm and leg. ⋯ Carotid duplex ultrasonography showed a dolichoectatic right common carotid artery with a maximum diameter of 39 mm with thick plaque and strong spontaneous echo contrast. The flow velocity was considerably reduced, which caused thrombus formation, and strong antithrombotic therapy was required. This case provides a rare example of ischemic stroke caused by extracranial carotid artery dolichoectasia.