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Objective:To investigate the additional value of unenhanced computed tomography (CT) in the differential diagnosis of brain tumors and non-neoplastic lesions.Methods:A total of 237 cases [140 males and 97 females; (49±16) years old; including 48 cases of low-grade glioma, 134 cases of high-grade glioma, 38 cases of primary central nervous system lymphoma, 9 cases of medulloblastoma, 5 cases of germinoma, and 3 cases of central neurocytoma] of brain tumors (diffuse gliomas and non-glial tumors) diagnosed by biopsy or surgery and pathology in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from September 2016 to October 2020 were collected retrospectively. Sixty-six cases [46 males and 20 females; (42±13) years old; including 12 cases of abscesses, 5 cases of infarcts, 33 cases of demyelinating lesions, 11 cases of autoimmune encephalitis, and 5 cases of central nervous system vasculitis] of brain non-neoplastic lesions were confirmed by biopsy or clinic. All patients underwent routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and unenhanced CT before the treatment. The images were reviewed by two neuroradiologists together blind to the final diagnosis with and without CT images respectively. The diagnostic results and reliability scores were recorded, and the accuracy of the two evaluations was compared.Results:CT hyperattenuation exhibited a higher specificity (95%) than conventional MRI scan (86%), and a lower diagnostic sensitivity (34% vs 86%). Compared to MRI alone, the combined modality of MRI and unenhanced CT significantly improved diagnostic accuracy (94% vs 86%). Additionally, the CT attenuation ratio of non-neoplastic lesions was significantly lower than that of neoplastic lesions [0.69 (0.61,0.78) and 1.14 (1.00,1.25), W=2 123, P<0.05]. The CT attenuation ratio in the non-glial origin tumor group was significantly higher than that in the diffuse glioma group [1.28 (1.18,1.41) and 1.13 (0.97,1.21), W=1 858, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ groups of diffuse glioma [1.11 (0.99,1.20) vs 1.16 (1.09,1.24), P>0.05 (Nemenyi test)]. However, both were significantly higher than that of grade Ⅱgroup of diffuse glioma [0.89 (0.76,1.07), P<0.05 (Nemenyi test)]. No significant difference was observed between astrocytic tumors and oligodendroglial tumors at the same grade. Conclusions:Hyperattenuation on unenhanced CT is highly specific for the diagnosis of brain tumors. Unenhanced CT plus MRI is more accurate for distinguishing the two entities in hypoattenuation lesion on unenhanced CT.
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Objective:To investigate the distribution and morphological characteristics of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions in patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody related demyelinating diseases and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and their clinical value in early diagnosis.Methods:A total of 35 patients with MOG antibody related demyelinating diseases [20 males and 15 females; aged 31 (25, 43) years] and 36 patients with AQP4 antibody positive NMOSD [3 males and 33 females; aged 42 (29, 54) years] were collected retrospectively from September 2018 to June 2021 in Chenzhou First People′s Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University which were classified as MOG group and AQP4 positive group respectively. All patients underwent routine cranial MRI scanning before treatment and the location, shape and quantity of intracranial lesions were recorded. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the number of different types of lesions between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the significance of different lesions for the two diseases.Results:There were 7 types of lesions with significant differences in different parts and shapes. Stepwise Logistic regression showed that cortical and juxtacortical lesions ( OR=21.91, 95% CI 3.09-61.69, P<0.05) and infratentorial peripheral white matter lesions ( OR=10.48, 95% CI 2.00-18.89, P<0.05) were the most important risk factors in the MOG group. The incidence of cortical and juxtacortical lesions in the MOG group was 51.4% (18/35), which was higher than that in the AQP4 positive group (2.8%, 1/36; χ2=19.02, P<0.01). The incidence of infratentorial peripheral white matter lesions in the MOG group was 31.4% (11/35), which was higher than that in the AQP4 positive group (5.6%, 2/36; χ2=6.31, P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that peripheral lesions [including 6 types of lesions such as supratentorial soft meningitis, cortical encephalitis, cortical and juxtacortical lesions, infratentorial soft meningitis, infratentorial soft meningeal demyelination and infratentorial peripheral lesions, area under curve (AUC)=0.93] were more important than cortical and juxtacortical lesions (AUC=0.75) and central lesions (supratentorial paraventricular white matter lesions, diencephalon, infratentorial paraventricular lesions,AUC=0.64), which had higher diagnostic efficiency. Conclusions:The incidence of intracranial lesions in MOG antibody related demyelinating disease was higher than that in AQP4 positive NMOSD, and the distribution and morphology of intracranial MRI lesions in the two diseases had their characteristic manifestations. Identifying the distribution patterns of peripheral lesions (distributed along pia mater) and central lesions (distributed along ependyma) had a certain reference significance for distinguishing the two groups of diseases.
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Objective To study the correlation between the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) measurements and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), Katafuchi scores in IgA nephropathy. Methods Thirty-five patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN group) and twenty healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled in this study. All of the subjects underwent bilateral renal DWI measurements with 3.0T MRI scanner. The values of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of renal cortex and medulla were measured. GFR of IgAN group was detected with 99Tcm-DTPA scintigraphy. Based on the Lee classification and the Katafuchi score system, the pathological grading was carried out in patients of IgAN group. The ADC values were compared between control group and different grades of IgAN group. The correlations between ADC and GFR values were analysed in defferent groups. The correlations between ADC values and Katafuchi scores were analysed in IgAN group. Results The renal cortical ADC values were significantly higher than medulla ADC values in both control group and IgAN group (P 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the renal cortical and medulla ADC values and the GFR values in IgAN group (P medulla ADC values and the Katafuchi scores in IgAN group (P<0.05). Conclusion The diffusion-weighted imaging can reflect the physiological functions of kidney. It was feasible for application DWI in IgA nephropathy, which can be used for assessing the renal filtration function and the pathological damage. However, DWI measurement is not sensitive to early renal disease.