Neuroimaging clinics of North America
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Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a monophasic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system typically affecting the gray and the white matter of the brain and spinal cord in multiple locations. In the acute stages, ADEM is characterized histologically by perivenous edema, demyelination, and infiltration with macrophages and lymphocytes, with relative axonal sparing, whereas the late course of the disease is characterized by perivascular gliosis.
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The field of statistics makes valuable contributions to functional neuroimaging research by establishing procedures for the design and conduct of neuroimaging experiments and providing tools for objectively quantifying and measuring the strength of scientific evidence provided by the data. Two common functional neuroimaging research objectives include detecting brain regions that reveal task-related alterations in measured brain activity (activations) and identifying highly correlated brain regions that exhibit similar patterns of activity over time (functional connectivity). This article highlights various statistical procedures for analyzing data from activation studies and functional connectivity studies, focusing on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) data. Also discussed are emerging statistical methods for prediction using fMRI and PET data, which stand to increase the translational significance of functional neuroimaging data to clinical practice.
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Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · Nov 2007
ReviewImaging of the mind: yesterday's triumphs and tomorrow's challenges.
Imaging of the mind involves an understanding of the brain and imaging technology. Much progress has been made over the past 400 years in defining the mind and developing tools for its investigation. ⋯ Scientific imaging has dramatically increased in power over the past 2 decades and is now a critical tool for studying the brain, the physical seat of the mind. Whether the mind can be imaged remains to be seen.
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Atherosclerotic plaque at the carotid bifurcation is the primary cause of ischemic strokes and the degree of carotid stenosis is strongly associated with stroke risk in symptomatic patients. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, constituting approximately 700,000 cases each year. ⋯ Early to more advanced progressive lesions of the carotid are categorized, based on descriptive morphologic events originally cited for the coronary circulation. The histologic features associated with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid disease are also addressed, along with the issues surrounding current stent-based therapies for the prevention of major recurrent vascular events.
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Different types of malformations share a dilated vein of Galen, but only one of them is a true vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (VGAM). The optimal window of opportunity for treatment is between 4 and 5 years of months [corrected], because this allows the child to grow and mature. ⋯ The transvenous approach carries significantly elevated morbidity and mortality and is rarely indicated. Anatomic cure of the VGAM is not the main goal of treatment; the ultimate goal is control of the malformation to allow the brain to mature and develop normally.