PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G A Press

Publications and source records attributed to G A Press.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Benefits of Gd-DTPA for MR imaging of intracranial abnormalities.

Forty patients with symptoms of intracranial disease were studied with magnetic resonance before and after intravenous injection of gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA). The T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained in all patients. Ninety brain lesions were found in 36 patients, including primary (20 patients) and metastatic (six) tumors, hemorrhage (one), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (one), cysticercosis (one), infarction (four), and postoperative changes (four). Postcontrast images revealed lesions not seen on precontrast scans in eight (20%) patients. Also, the postcontrast images showed a change in appearance of the lesions in 20 (50%) that provided helpful information for assessing the abnormality in 20 cases (50%). Gadolinium-DTPA did not obscure any of the lesions seen on precontrast scans. It improved conspicuity, helped characterize and delineate the extent of lesions, and increased the sensitivity for detection of cerebral abnormalities.

Adult↗

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis: MR manifestations.

Magnetic resonance (MR) examinations of three patients with rhinocerebral mucormycosis are reviewed. The clinical course is outlined and the MR characteristics are analyzed in light of the known pathology. The major MR findings include sinus and orbital disease followed by deep facial extension. Involvement of basal portions of the hemispheres, brain stem, and hypothalamus occurred rapidly following ipsilateral facial or orbital invasion in all three cases. Regions of intracerebral inflammation were hyperintense compared with normal parenchyma on T2-weighted and proton density-weighted images. Septic cavernous sinus and internal carotid artery thrombosis was diagnosed by MR in one case. Magnetic resonance demonstrated partial resolution of intracerebral abnormalities that accompanied clinical improvement in the one surviving patient.

Adolescent↗

The cerebellum: 3. Anatomic-MR correlation in the coronal plane.

Thin (5-mm) coronal high-field (1.5-T) MR images of four human brain specimens and 14 normal volunteers were correlated with myelin-stained microtomic sections of the specimen cerebella. The primary white-matter tracts innervating several hemispheric (posterior quadrangular, superior, and inferior semilunar, gracile, biventer, tonsil) and vermian (declive, folium, tuber) lobules are oriented perpendicularly to the coronal plane of section and are shown well on proton-density-weighted (long TR/short TE) and T2-weighted (long TR/long TE) spin-echo images, which provide excellent contrast between gray and white matter. Several of the surface sulci and fissures of the cerebellar hemispheres (including the superior posterior, horizontal, secondary, and posterolateral fissures) also course perpendicular to the coronal plane and are depicted well on T1-weighted (short TR/short TE) and T2-weighted images, which maximize contrast between CSF and parenchyma. The opportunity for side-to-side comparison of the hemispheres is a distinct advantage of the coronal view. Nevertheless, more obliquely oriented surfaces (preculminate, primary, inferior posterior, inferior anterior, and intrabiventral fissures) and deep hemispheric structures (primary white-matter tracts to central, anterior quadrangular, and floccular lobules) may be obscured by volume-averaging in the coronal plane; moreover, much of the finer anatomy of the vermis is depicted poorly. The constant surface and deep anatomy of the cerebellum revealed on coronal images in normal volunteers encourages detailed mapping. MR imaging in the coronal plane should be especially useful in identifying, localizing, and quantifying normal and abnormal morphologic differences between the cerebellar hemispheres.

Adolescent↗

Intracranial ependymoma and subependymoma: MR manifestations.

In order to provide a detailed description of the MR appearance of intracranial ependymoma, the MR examinations of 12 patients (10 with ependymomas and two with subependymomas) were reviewed and correlated with operative and pathologic reports. Three of 10 ependymomas were intraventricular, two were intraparenchymal, and five were transependymal, extending from CSF spaces into parenchyma. Both subependymomas were intraventricular. Solid ependymomas and subependymomas were iso- to hypointense relative to normal white matter on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on proton-density- and T2-weighted images. Foci of signal heterogeneity within solid neoplasms represented methemoglobin, hemosiderin, necrosis, calcification, and encased native vessels or tumor vascularity. Gd-DTPA-enhanced images in two patients differentiated enhancing tumor from surrounding nonenhancing edema and from surrounding normal brain parenchyma. Cystic neoplasms had sharply defined, round or oval margins and uniform signal intensity equivalent to or slightly hyperintense relative to CSF. Tumor-associated calcification was not demonstrated readily by MR. Sagittal and coronal images were valuable in assessing the amount of intraventricular tumor and route of extension. We conclude that the MR differentiation of ependymomas and subependymomas from other gliomas is provided most reliably by the location and morphology of the tumor and not by differences in signal intensity. The typical ependymoma arises within the fourth ventricle as a solid mass with heterogeneous signal intensity. A propensity for spread is seen along the CSF pathways via the foramina of Magendie and Luschka and the aqueduct of Sylvius. Supratentorial ependymomas may be periventricular in location and have cystic components. The two subependymomas in our series were solid, intraventricular tumors with relatively homogeneous signal intensities.

Adult↗

Abnormalities of the brain in AIDS patients: correlation of postmortem MR findings with neuropathology.

The ability of MR to detect CNS lesions in AIDS patients was evaluated by postmortem scanning of 10 formalin-fixed brains. Nine patients had premortem mental status changes and five had focal neurologic deficits. The brains were imaged and sectioned in corresponding planes. MR images showed atrophy in eight of the 10. All grossly identified lesions and areas of MR abnormality were histologically evaluated. Areas of infarction and necrosis associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) or Toxoplasma gondii were seen as foci of increased signal intensity. Severe ventriculitis and focal gliosis were also visible by MR. Neither CT nor MR was able to detect diffuse CMV- or HIV-associated microglial nodules. Dementia without focal neurologic signs correlated best with the presence of diffuse microglial nodules at pathology. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of correlating postmortem MR imaging with neuropathology, and the relevance of postmortem findings to the interpretation of MR images in living patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Abnormalities of the brain in nonketotic hyperglycinemia: MR manifestations.

MR imaging in seven patients (4 days to 38 months old) with nonketotic hyperglycinemia showed age-related findings of progressive atrophy and delayed myelination. Parenchymal volume loss was found as early as 4 days after birth and increased in severity with increasing age to 27 months. Both supratentorial and infratentorial volume loss were present in the most severely affected patients. The corpus callosum was abnormally thin in all patients. The state of myelination of the CNS was assessed on T2-weighted images. Decreased or absent myelination within supratentorial white-matter tracts was detected in all four patients 10 months of age or older. Myelination of the brainstem and cerebellum progressed normally. No correlation was found between the degree of volume loss or abnormality of myelination demonstrated by MR and the concentration of glycine in the CSF or plasma. Abnormalities shown by MR correlate well with known pathologic findings in patients with nonketotic hyperglycinemia.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗

MR imaging and CT in three cases of Sturge-Weber syndrome: prospective comparison.

Three patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome (5 months, 6 years, and 17 years old) were studied prospectively with MR imaging and CT of the brain. Both techniques demonstrated parenchymal volume loss, choroid plexus enlargement, calvarial hemiatrophy, and proptosis. In regions of parenchymal volume loss, MR alone demonstrated thickened cortex with decreased convolutions and abnormal white matter. A focal thalamic lesion and prominent medullary and subependymal veins were also shown better by MR. However, CT definitively demonstrated the characteristic cortical calcification, while T2-weighted MR images detected only smaller, nonspecific foci of hypointense signal. MR and CT are complementary in the evaluation of Sturge-Weber syndrome.

Adolescent↗

Primary intracranial CNS lymphoma: MR manifestations.

We reviewed MR scans of 10 patients with biopsy-proved primary CNS lymphoma. Twenty-five lesions were identified in 10 patients (four with AIDS and six without AIDS). In general, the typical lesion of CNS lymphoma was found to have the following MR characteristics: they were slightly hypointense on T1-weighted images and slightly hyperintense on proton density and T2-weighted images relative to gray matter; they induced mild edema and mild to moderate mass effect. In AIDS patients, 82% of the lesions were smaller than 2 cm in diameter, and were frequently located in the temporal lobes and basal ganglia; they were often multiple. In non-AIDS patients, 75% of the lesions were larger than 2 cm in diameter and were primarily found in the deep parietal lobe; most were solitary.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗