Optical coherence tomography angiography findings in Susac's syndrome: a case report.

PURPOSE: To report clinical features of Susac's syndrome (SS) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 25-year-old Caucasian female with a history of non-pulsatile migraine, tinnitus, and verbal apraxia complaining of peripheral scotoma in left eye due to branch retinal arteriole occlusion (BRAO) was diagnosed as having SS after audiometric test, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and multimodal retinal imaging. Fundus biomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography (FA) revealed the presence of retinal ischemia in the area of BRAO. The OCTA images showed decreased vascular perfusion of both superficial and deep plexuses in the area of the occluded arteriole with increase of vascular density values after treatment with intravenous glucocorticoids, cyclophosphamide, and aspirin. CONCLUSIONS: OCTA offers a valid alternative to the standard invasive FA, evaluating vascular perfusion in all capillary plexuses, and monitoring retinal microvascular flow changes during the course of BRAO, without dye injection.

The Complex Role Played by the Default Mode Network during Sexual Stimulation: A Cluster-Based fMRI Meta-Analysis.

The default mode network (DMN) is a complex network that plays a significant and active role during naturalistic stimulation. Previous studies that have used naturalistic stimuli, such as real-life stories or silent or sonorous films, have found that the information processing involved a complex hierarchical set of brain regions, including the DMN nodes. The DMN is not involved in low-level features and is only associated with high-level content-related incoming information. The human sexual experience involves a complex set of processes related to both external context and inner processes. Since the DMN plays an active role in the integration of naturalistic stimuli and aesthetic perception with beliefs, thoughts, and episodic autobiographical memories, we aimed at quantifying the involvement of the nodes of the DMN during visual sexual stimulation. After a systematic search in the principal electronic databases, we selected 83 fMRI studies, and an ALE meta-analysis was calculated. We performed conjunction analyses to assess differences in the DMN related to stimulus modalities, sex differences, and sexual orientation. The results show that sexual stimulation alters the topography of the DMN and highlights the DMN's active role in the integration of sexual stimuli with sexual schemas and beliefs.

CT Findings in Pulmonary and Abdominal Sarcoidosis. Implications for Diagnosis and Classification.

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology characterized by noncaseating granulomas virtually in every organ and tissue. This finding represents the most important diagnostic clue to reach a correct definition of sarcoidosis, although the biopsy is invasive and has several risk procedures. Several efforts are made to suspect the diagnosis of sarcoidosis by combining noninvasive elements, in particular from imaging, though these findings are often nonspecific and reflect the wide multifactorial pathogenesis. Every effort should be made to obtain a detailed radiological picture that, if associated with a suggestive clinical picture, could avoid the need of biopsy in some specific cases. In this narrative review, we aim to describe main computed tomography (CT) features of pulmonary and abdominal sarcoidosis, by reporting strengths and limits of this technique, in particular for the identification of extrapulmonary, isolated disease.