Cerebral microbleeds. Utility of SWI sequences.

OBJECTIVES: Define the concept of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and describe the most useful MRI sequences for detecting this finding. Review the entities that most frequently present with CMBs and that may benefit from the use of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequences. CONCLUSIONS: SWI is a useful MRI sequence for the detection and characterization of microhemorrhages, venous structures and other sources of susceptibility in imaging. SWI is particularly sensitive to local magnetic field inhomogeneities generated by certain substances and is superior to T2* GRE sequences for this assessment. CMBs may be seen in different neurologic conditions, in certain infrequent clinical contexts and have a key role as a biomarker status in gliomas (ITTS) and as a marker of inflammatory activity in multiple sclerosis.

Extrauterine leiomyomatosis, the great mimicker.

OBJECTIVES: Describe the radiographic features of the different forms of extrauterine leiomyomatosis. CONCLUSIONS: Leiomyomas with a rare growth pattern occur most often in women of reproductive age and with a history of hysterectomy. Extrauterine leiomyomas present a greater diagnostic challenge because they may mimic malignancies, and serious diagnostic errors may result.

Subaerial biofilms on granitic historic buildings: microbial diversity and development of phototrophic multi-species cultures.

Microbial communities of natural subaerial biofilms developed on granitic historic buildings of a World Heritage Site (Santiago de Compostela, NW Spain) were characterized and cultured in liquid BG11 medium. Environmental barcoding through next-generation sequencing (Pacific Biosciences) revealed that the biofilms were mainly composed of species of Chlorophyta (green algae) and Ascomycota (fungi) commonly associated with rock substrata. Richness and diversity were higher for the fungal than for the algal assemblages and fungi showed higher heterogeneity among samples. Cultures derived from natural biofilms showed the establishment of stable microbial communities mainly composed of Chlorophyta and Cyanobacteria. Although most taxa found in these cultures were not common in the original biofilms, they are likely common pioneer colonizers of building stone surfaces, including granite. Stable phototrophic multi-species cultures of known microbial diversity were thus obtained and their reliability to emulate natural colonization on granite should be confirmed in further experiments.

Aortic valvular heart disease in adults

Valvular Heart Disease (VHD) is an important cardiovascular problem in the adult population. The knowledge of the physiology involved, prompt recognition and diagnosis are of paramount importance for the primary care physician who is in the front line of patient care. This article is the second of a series of two that deals with valvular problems in the adults in concise and practical form (11). Each topic will be presented using the following format: description, etiology, pathophysiology, natural history, essential of diagnosis and management. In this second and final article we will discuss aortic valve disorders.

Mitral valvular heart disease in the adults

Valvular Heart Disease (VHD) is an important cardiovascular problem in the adult population. The knowledge of the physiology involved, prompt recognition and diagnosis are of paramount importance for the primary care physician who is in the front line of patient care. This article is the first of a series of two that will discuss valvular problems in the adults in concise and practical form. Each topic will be presented using the following format: description, etiology, pathophysiology, natural history, essential of diagnosis and management. In this first article we will discuss mitral valve disorders including mitral valve prolapse (MVP)