Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging
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Cortical microinfarcts (CMIs) are detected as small foci restricted to the cerebral cortex in autopsy brains. CMIs are thought to be caused by cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in the elderly and may be a risk for dementia. We aimed to visualize CMIs, which remain invisible on conventional MRI, using double inversion recovery (DIR) and 3-dimensional fluid attenuated inversion recovery (3D-FLAIR) on 3-Tesla MRI. ⋯ DIR and 3D-FLAIR images may open a way to visualize CMIs.
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Comparative Study
Contribution of high-b-value diffusion-weighted imaging in determination of brain ischemia in transient ischemic attack patients.
High-b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (b = 2,000 and b = 3,000 second/mm(2)) offers theoretical advantages over DWI examinations at b = 1,000 second/mm(2) for detection of acute ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine whether high-b-value DWI are better than b = 1,000 images in TIA patients. ⋯ High-b-value DWI did not improve the conspicuity and distinction of the ischemic lesions.
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Age-related white matter changes (WMC) increase risk of cognitive and functional decline. They are considered as target for preventive trials. However, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to screen for subclinical WMC is not cost-effective. We explored the clinical utility of transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) in the evaluation of WMC. We hypothesized that the pulsatility index (PI) of TCD correlates with severity of WMC. ⋯ PI correlates with volume of WMC. It may help to differentiate those with and without WMC in stroke patients. Further study evaluating the clinical utility of TCD in screening for subclinical WMC among community elderly is warranted.
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To prospectively evaluate longitudinal changes in white matter lesions (WMLs) in migraineurs with aura, by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to correlate WMLs modifications with patients' clinical characteristics. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that in migraine with aura WMLs number can progress over time and suggests an association between aura features and WMLs progression. Studies with a higher number of patients are required to confirm these findings.
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Evidence from animal models and examination of human epilepsy surgery specimens indicates that inflammation plays an important role in epilepsy. Positron emission tomography (PET) using [C11]PK11195, a marker of activated microglia, provides a means to visualize neuroinflammation in vivo in humans. We hypothesize that in patients with active epilepsy, [C11]PK11195 PET (PK-PET) may be able to identify areas of focally increased inflammation corresponding to the seizure onset zone. ⋯ PK-PET can identify neuroinflammation associated with subtle focal cortical dysplasia, and may therefore have a clinical role in guiding epilepsy surgery for patients with difficult-to-localize seizure foci.