Table of Contents
Perspectives
Editorial
Review Article
Patient Safety
Health Care Reform Vignette
General Contents
- Progressing Bevacizumab-Induced Diffusion Restriction Is Associated with Coagulative Necrosis Surrounded by Viable Tumor and Decreased Overall Survival in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma
The authors explored regions of diffusion restriction following bevacizumab therapy in patients with glioblastoma by 1) analyzing tissue samples from patients at postmortem to pathologically confirm tumor cellularity or coagulative necrosis and 2) assessing the patient populationto determine the effect that these lesions have on overall survival. The postmortem examinations were performed on 6 patients with recurrent glioblastoma on bevacizumab withprogressively growing regions of diffusion restriction. ADC values were extracted from regions of both hypercellular tumor and necrosis. They conclude that progressive diffusion-restricted lesions were pathologically confirmed to be coagulative necrosis surrounded by viable tumor and associated with decreased overall survival.
Commentary
- Comparison of High-Resolution MR Imaging and Digital Subtraction Angiography for the Characterization and Diagnosis of Intracranial Artery Disease
Thirty-seven patients who had undergone both high-resolution MR imaging and DSA for intracranial artery disease were evaluated. The degree of stenosis and the minimal luminal diameter were independently measured by 2 observers on both DSA and high-resolution MR imaging, and the results were compared. The 2 observers independently diagnosed intracranial artery diseases on DSA and high-resolution MR imaging. High-resolution MR imaging showed moderate-to-excellent agreement and significant correlations with DSA on the degree of stenosis and minimal luminal diameter. The authors conclude that high-resolution MR imaging may be an imaging method comparable with DSA for the characterization and diagnosis ofvarious intracranial artery diseases.
- Comparison of Quantitative Cerebral Blood Flow Measurements Performed by Bookend Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast and Arterial Spin-Labeling MRI in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
Both dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion with bookend T1-calibration and pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling have been used recently for CBF quantification in relapsing-remitting MS. The authors compared pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling CBF with the bookend technique in a prospective cohort of 19 healthy controls, 19 subjects with relapsing-remitting MS without cognitive impairment, and 20 subjects with relapsing-remitting MS with cognitive impairment. Voxelwise paired t tests revealed no significant CBF differences between techniques after normalization of global meanintensities. They conclude that there is agreement between pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling and bookend technique CBF measurements in healthy controls and patients with relapsing-remitting MS.
- Metabolic Abnormalities in the Hippocampus of Patients with Schizophrenia: A 3D Multivoxel MR Spectroscopic Imaging Study at 3T
Nineteen patients with schizophrenia and 11 matched healthy controls underwent MR imaging and multivoxel point-resolved 1H-MRS at 3T to obtain their hippocampal gray matter absolute NAA, Cr, and Cho concentrations. Patients' average hippocampal GM Cr concentrations were 19% higher than those of controls. NAA and Cho showed no differences. The authors conclude that the findings suggest the hippocampal volume deficit in schizophrenia is not due to net loss of neurons, which is in agreement with histopathology studies but not with prior 1H-MR spectroscopy reports. Elevated Cr would be consistent with hippocampal hypermetabolism.
- Yield of Repeat 3D Angiography in Patients with Aneurysmal-Type Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the yield of repeat 3D rotational angiography in patients with aneurysmal-type SAH with negative initial 3D rotational angiography findings. Between March 2013 andJanuary 2016, 292 patients with SAH and an aneurysmal bleeding pattern were admitted, with 30 having initial negative 3D rotational angiography findings within 24 hours. These patients underwent a second 3D rotational angiography after 7–10 days. In 8/30 patients (over 26%) with initial negative 3D rotational angiography findings, a ruptured aneurysm wasfound on repeat 3D rotational angiography. The investigators conclude that repeat 3D rotational angiography is mandatory in patients with initial 3D rotational angiography findings negative for aneurysmal-type SAH.
- CT and MR Imaging in the Diagnosis of Scleritis
Scleritis is a rare vision-threatening condition that can occur isolated or in association with other orbital abnormalities and whose etiology is typically inflammatory/noninfectious, either idiopathic or in the context of systemic disease. The authors analyzed 11 cases of scleritis in which CT and/or MR imaging were performed during the active phase of disease and assessed the diagnostic utility of these techniques. The most important imaging findings of scleritis were scleral enhancement, scleral thickening, and focal periscleral cellulitis. MR imaging is the recommended imaging technique.
