A Case of Neck Pain in a Patient with Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak Who Showed Characteristic Findings on Cervical Spine MRI.

We report a case of a patient with neck pain only who was diagnosed with spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leak (SCFL) based on characteristic findings on cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The patient was a 47-year-old man who had been experiencing neck pain for 3 days. He experienced neck pain when he got up in the morning and could not keep standing. Cervical spine MRI showed significant dilatation of the anterolateral dural canal veins at the C2 level. Under the suspicion of SCFL, additional thoracic spine MRI was performed, which revealed epidural fluid collection in the lower thoracic spine. He underwent bed rest, but his symptoms returned. Epidural blood patch (EBP) was performed. The symptoms improved after EBP, and the venous dilatation disappeared on MRI. Venous dilatation in SCFL is considered an effect of epidural space enlargement due to dural sac shrinkage caused by cerebrospinal fluid loss. Therefore, venous dilatation in the cervical spine is an indirect finding of SCFL. It has been reported that images of epidural fluid collection and dural canal collapse on spinal MRI are useful as direct findings in the diagnosis of SCFL, and these findings are most noticeable at the thoracic level. Because SCFL with neck pain only also exists, dilated images of the epidural vein are valuable for diagnosing SCFL, and neurospine surgeons should be aware of this finding when encountering patients complaining of neck pain.

Recovery process and prognosis of aphasic patients with left putaminal hemorrhage: relationship between hematoma type and language modalities.

To elucidate the precise recovery process and prognosis of language functions in aphasic patients with left putaminal hemorrhage, we investigated 48 aphasic patients classified into 4 groups according to the location and extent of hematoma. The hematoma extended to the corona radiata in all patients, extracapsular in type I (12 cases), to the anterior limb in type II (10 cases), to the posterior limb in type III (12 cases), and to both limbs in type IV (14 cases). The Standard Language Test for Aphasia was performed at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the attack. The type II, III, and IV patients were divided into 2 groups, with and without ventricular rupture of the hemorrhage. At 3 and 6 months after the attack, the type I, II, and III patients showed significant improvement (P < .05) in all language modalities compared with the type IV patients. Most improvement in language modalities occurred in the first 3 months. The evaluation of patients with ventricular rupture after 6 months revealed poor recovery (P < .05) in oral commands, visual commands, confrontation naming, sentence repetition, narratives, verbal fluency, and writing in type II and III patients. In type IV patients, this evaluation showed poor recovery (P < .05) only in oral and written naming (kanji words). No significant difference in prognostic outcome was observed between the surgical treatment group and the nonsurgical treatment group. The classification of hemorrhage may be useful in predicting the outcome of aphasia with putaminal hemorrhage and in guiding clinicians in providing effective instructions to patients and their relatives.

Simultaneous onset of anterior and middle cerebral artery dissections with an old vertebral artery dissection.

Multiple arterial dissections in the anterior circulation with simultaneous onset are extremely rare. We report a patient with infarctions caused by simultaneous arterial dissections in the right anterior cerebral artery and the left middle cerebral artery and discuss the characteristic feature of this vascular disorder. A 53-year-old woman presented with a severe headache and a mild aphasia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple acute cerebral infarctions in the left temporal and right frontal lobes. The initial angiographic findings revealed arterial dissections of the anterior cerebral, left middle cerebral, and right vertebral arteries. The follow-up angiographic examination found improvement of the stenosis in both the anterior cerebral and middle cerebral arteries. We have concluded that the lesion of the vertebral artery was not in an acute stage, because no interval change was seen during the radiologic evaluation. She underwent conservative therapy, and her symptoms disappeared. Multiple arterial dissections are rare, especially those developing simultaneously in different arteries. This is the first case of multiple arterial dissections of the different arteries in the anterior circulation manifesting cerebral infarction simultaneously.

In-stent thrombosis after carotid artery stenting despite sufficient antiplatelet therapy in a bladder cancer patient.

In-stent thrombosis (IST) after carotid artery stenting (CAS) is a rare but potentially devastating complication. We present a case of early IST after CAS despite sufficient antiplatelet therapy in a patient with bladder cancer. A 77-year-old man under preventive triple antiplatelet therapy underwent CAS without any intra- or periprocedural complications. However, the patient developed a large asymptomatic IST 6 days after CAS. Anticoagulant therapy with argatroban was reintroduced to treat IST concomitant with antiplatelet agents. Subsequently, the IST shrank and disappeared without any thrombotic symptoms. Malignancy is regarded as an acquired thrombophilic condition associated with a significant risk of thrombosis. In the field of coronary stents, cancer is associated with a significant increasing risk of IST. The cause of IST in our case was possibly related in hypercoagulable state because of the patient's cancer. Attention for IST should be paid in CAS cases with these risk factors, and repeated examination is recommended.

Giant serpentine aneurysm of the distal anterior cerebral artery.

We report a case of a 38-year-old man with a giant serpentine aneurysm arising from the distal anterior cerebral artery. This aneurysm grew from a fusiform aneurysm to a huge aneurysm within 5 months before manifesting as a mass lesion. The aneurysm was largely filled with thrombus, and 4 distal branches arose from the aneurysm dome. Selective balloon test occlusion of the distal anterior cerebral artery using an intravascular technique was performed to confirm the tolerance of the brain tissue. The balloon test occlusion elicited adequate leptomeningeal collateral circulation and no neurologic symptoms; thus, the aneurysm was treated with trapping and resection. The patient had no ischemic complications after the surgery and returned to his job 1 month later. No ischemia developed in the 2 years after surgery. Selective balloon test occlusion of the distal cerebral artery using an intravascular technique can be a very useful tool in planning the therapeutic strategy for a complicated distal cerebral aneurysm.

Tethered cord syndrome in identical twins.

The diagnosis of tethered cord syndrome (TCS) without typical conus medullaris symptoms and the radiological features such as a low set conus medullaris or dysraphic malformation is difficult. We report 11 year old identical twin brothers with TCS associated with the conus at the normal level. Their presenting symptom was progressive leg pain and both patients underwent surgical interruption of the filum terminale. The pain recurred in one patient treated surgically only after symptom became worse but resolved immediately in the other sibling treated promptly. We indicate the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of TCS to obtain excellent long-term outcome despite the absence of a low set conus or specific symptoms. Furthermore, when a twin or sibling of an affected person has neurological symptoms and the cutaneous signature of spinal dysraphism, radiological examination should be performed to establish the cause.

[Dilation of subarachnoid space around the optic nerve in a patient with subdural effusion: a case report].

A fifty-year-old man who had a history of minor head injury a month previously presented with headache, visual disturbance and papilloedema. Brain MR imaging showed bilateral subdural effusion and fat saturated orbital MR imaging demonstrated dilated subarachnoid space around the optic nerve. The diameter of the subarachnoid space behind the globe was 7.0 mm and that of the optic nerve was 3.5 mm. Bilateral simple drainage was performed to prevent deterioration of the visual disturbance. Light bloody fluid with a subdural pressure of 10.5 cmH2O was drained from the burr hole at the left side, and colorless fluid was drained from the right. Orbital MR imaging during continuous drainage revealed shrinkage of the subarachnoid space around the optic nerve. However, follow-up MR imaging 5 months after drainage showed disappearance of the subdural effusion and the reappearance of the subarachnoid space around the optic nerve, even though the size was smaller than before surgery. These findings suggest that the diameter of the optic subarachnoid space co-relates with the intracranial pressure, and may be an indication for increased intracranial pressure.

Effect of intracranial pressure on the diameter of the optic nerve sheath.

OBJECT: The subarachnoid space around the optic nerve in the orbit can be visualized using T2-weighted MR imaging with the fat-saturation pulse sequence. The optic nerve sheath (ONS) diameter can be estimated by measuring the outer diameter of the subarachnoid space. Dilated ONS is associated with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus, and is believed to reflect increased intracranial pressure (ICP). The relationship between dilated ONS and ICP is unclear because of the difficulty in obtaining noninvasive measurements of ICP. The authors investigated the relationship between subdural pressure measured at the time of surgery and ONS diameter measured on MR images in patients with chronic subdural fluid collection. METHODS: Twelve patients underwent bur-hole craniostomy with continuous drainage for chronic subdural hematoma or hygroma in 2006. Orbital thin-slice fat-saturated MR images were obtained before and after surgery, and the ONS diameters were measured just behind the optic globe. Subdural pressure was measured using a manometer before opening of the dura mater. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between the ONS diameter and the subdural pressure (correlation coefficient 0.879, p = 0.0036). The ONS diameter before surgery (6.1 +/- 0.7 mm) was significantly reduced after surgery (4.8 +/- 0.9 mm, p = 0.003; measurements are expressed as the mean +/- standard deviation). CONCLUSIONS: Increased ONS diameter measured on coronal orbital thin-slice fat-saturated T2-weighted MR images is a strong indicator of increased ICP, and helps to differentiate between passive subdural fluid collection due to brain atrophy and subdural hygroma with increased ICP.

Internal carotid artery occlusion manifesting only as oculomotor nerve palsy.

Oculomotor nerve palsy is very rare as the only manifestation of internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion, and the angiographic findings have not been described in detail. We present a case of ipsilateral ICA occlusion manifesting as only sudden onset of oculomotor nerve palsy. Cerebral angiography showed occlusion of the ICA from the cervical portion to the ophthalmic portion. Distal blood flow was compensated through an anastomosis from other arteries. Ischemia of the oculomotor nerve was thought to be caused by loss of supply from branches arising from the occluded cavernous portion of the ICA.

Distribution Patterns of Spinal Epidural Fluid in Patients with Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension Syndrome.

The aim of this study is to clarify the details of distribution patterns of spinal epidural fluid and to establish it as measure of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) syndrome diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging findings of the spine were analyzed in 37 patients, 24 women and 13 men (mean age 46.3 years), with SIH. Detection rate, thickness and patterns of the fluid collection were evaluated at every vertebral level. Follow-up spinal MRI findings were also analyzed for changes in epidural fluid collection and association with clinical symptoms. The MR images of the cervical spine were obtained in 30 patients, the thoracic spine in 36, and the lumbar spine in 17 patients. Epidural fluid collection was detected totally in 36 patients (97%) and was predominantly found at the mid-thoracic vertebrae. The fluid tended to locate dorsal to the dural sac at the thoracic spine and ventral at the cervical and lumbar spine. Patients with shorter duration of illness tended to have thicker fluid in the thoracic spine. In follow-up MRI, the findings of epidural fluid collection has disappeared in 32/36 cases within 3 months after treatment. Although residual fluid collection was found at the thoracic level in 4 cases, clinical symptoms were improved in all patients. This study suggested that the mid-thoracic spine should be chosen as the target of MRI in screening of SIH, and enlarged dorsal epidural space is strongly indicative of SIH.

[Refractory chronic subdural hematoma due to spontaneous intracranial hypotension].

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is reported to cause chronic subdurai hematoma (SDH), however diagnosis of SIH in patients with SDH is not always easy. We report a case of chronic SDH refractory to repeated drainage, which was attributed to SIH. A forty-five-year-old man who had been suffering from orthostatic headache for one month was admitted to our hospital presenting with unconsciousness and hemiparesis. CT on admission revealed a chronic subdural hematoma, which was successfully treated once with subdural drainage. However, the patient fell into unconscious again with recurrence of the hematoma within several days. After two more sessions of drainage, SIH due to cerebrospinal fluid leakage was diagnosed with spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radionuclide cisternography. Spinal MRI demonstrated abnormal fluid accumulation in the thoracic epidural space, and the radionuclide cisternogram showed early excretion of tracer into urine as well as absence of intracranial tracer filling. After treatment with epidural blood patching, the hematoma rapidly disappeared and he was discharged without symptoms. In the treatment of chronic SDH, especially in young to middle aged patient without preceding trauma or hematological disorders, physicians should pay attention to underlying SIH to avoid multiple surgery. MRI of the spine as well as radionuclide cisternography is useful in evaluation of this condition.

Subdural effusions in the posterior fossa associated with spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

BACKGROUND: Misdiagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension remains a problem, despite increasing recognition. METHODS: Three patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension presented with typical findings on lumbar puncture, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and radioisotope cisternography. All patients showed subdural effusions in the posterior fossa on axial T2-weighted MR imaging. Axial MR images of 112 patients with other conditions were also screened for this finding. RESULTS: One of three patients had typical orthostatic headache, and the other two had continuous headache. The finding of subdural effusions in the posterior fossa on axial T2-weighted MR imaging disappeared after treatment. Similar findings were found in 14 of 112 patients with other conditions. Most of the patients were over 60 years old or had dementia or previous radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Subdural effusions in the posterior fossa can be identified by T2-weighted axial MR imaging, and are useful for the diagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension and for verifying the effectiveness of treatment.

Unsuccessful tracer injection in radionuclide cisternography revisited.

Since cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is highlighted as a cause of persistent headache, radionuclide cisternography has been increasingly performed in Japan to confirm the disorder, although the limited ability of the examination should be recognized. We present 3 cases in which failure of a tracer injection was strongly suspected. In 2 cases with chronic symptoms, the tracer appeared to be injected into the epidural space, because of irregular initial accumulation of the tracer and lack of diffusion along the CSF cavity. Another is a case with spontaneous CSF leakage confirmed by MRI, and the tracer was thought to be injected into the leaked fluid accumulated in the spinal epidural space. Tracer in the CSF space rapidly disappeared within several hours in all cases. As such cisternographic images may be misdiagnosed as severe CSF leakage, careful interpretation of images in patients especially with no typical MR findings of CSF leakage is necessary. Excessive tracer clearance from the body suggests such technical failure.

[A middle cerebral artery dissecting aneurysm manifesting solely with pain, following a vertebral artery dissecting aneurysm].

A 41-year-old male had presented with severe neck pain and was diagnosed as having a left vertebral artery (VA) dissecting aneurysm. During the observation period, he suddenly suffered from a pain on his left temple. MR imaging revealed neither SAH nor cerebral infarction. MR angiography, computed tomographic (CT) angiography and cerebral angiography showed fusiform dilatation of the M1 portion of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) which had been normal in the former study. The abnormality of the left MCA normalized on both MR and CT angiography 6 months after the second onset. Because of the chronological change of radiological findings compatible with the symptom, we diagnosed the second episode as a MCA dissecting aneurysm manifesting with isolated pain. Among the previous forty-four MCA dissecting aneurysms, all but one case presented with hemorrhagic or ischemic event. In addition, this is the only case of multiple dissecting aneurysms of VA and MCA manifesting with isolated pain.

[Semi-quantiative RI cisternographic patterns in patients with chronic headache: a resemblance to those of intracranial hypotension syndrome].

Semi-quantitative radionuclide cisternography was performed to evaluate CSF leakage for patients with long-lasting headache and/or neck pain or refractory dizziness which appeared to be related to posture as well as patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). Radioactivity in the whole CSF space was counted and was plotted against time. SIH cases showed rapid decrease of radioactivity in the CSF space. Chronic headache patients were divided into Group I (rapid decrease of activity similarly to those in patients with SIH, to less than 80% at 5h and 40% at 24h), Group II (gradual decrease to less than 40% at 24h), and Group III (activity remained more than 80% at 5h and 40% at 24h). Of 16 patients in Group I, epidural blood patch was attempted in 14, and improvement of symptoms was obtained in 10. In 3 patients who underwent post-treatment RI study, tracer kinetics was normalized. These findings may indicate that some of patients with chronic headache actually have CSF leakage that can be treated with epidural blood patch.

Cerebral hemodynamic disturbance in dural arteriovenous fistula with retrograde leptomeningeal venous drainage: a prospective study using (123)I-iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography.

OBJECT: The severity of cerebral hemodynamic disturbance caused by retrograde leptomeningeal venous drainage (RLVD) of a dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) is related to neurological morbidity and unfavorable outcome. However, the cerebral hemodynamics of this disorder have not been elucidated well. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the cerebral venous congestive encephalopathy represented as a high-intensity area (HIA) on T2-weighted MR images and the cerebral hemodynamics examined by (123)I-iodoamphetamine (IMP) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), as well as the predictive value of (123)I-IMP SPECT for the development and reversibility of venous congestion encephalopathy. METHODS: Based on the pre- and posttreatment T2 HIAs associated with venous congestion encephalopathy, patients were divided into 3 groups: a normal group, an edema group, and an infarction group. The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at the region with RLVD was analyzed by (123)I-IMP SPECT, and the results were compared among the groups. RESULTS: There were 11, 6, and 3 patients in the normal, edema, and infarction groups, respectively. No patients in the normal group showed any symptoms related to venous congestion. In contrast, all patients in the edema and infarction groups developed neurological symptoms. The rCBF in the edema group was significantly lower than that in the normal group, and significantly higher than that in the infarction group. The cerebral vascular reactivity (CVR) of the infarction group was significantly lower than that of the normal and edema groups. After treatment, the neurological signs disappeared in the edema group, but only partial improvement was seen in the infarction group. The rCBF also significantly increased in the normal and edema groups, but not in the infarction group. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative rCBF measurement is useful for evaluating hemodynamic disturbance in dAVF with RLVD. The reduction of rCBF was strongly correlated with the severity of venous congestive encephalopathy, and loss of CVR is a reliable indicator of irreversible venous infarction caused by RLVD.

Magnetic resonance angiographic evidence of sex-linked variations in the circle of willis and the occurrence of cerebral aneurysms.

OBJECT: In this study the authors investigated the relationship between variations in the circle of Willis observed on magnetic resonance (MR) angiograms and locations of cerebral aneurysms, and evaluated the risk of aneurysm formation. METHODS: One hundred thirty-one patients with cerebral aneurysms were retrospectively selected from a series of 4518 patients who underwent MR angiography at one neurosurgical institute. Variations in the anatomy of the circle of Willis were simply classified into Type A, in which there was no visualization of a unilateral A1 segment, and Type P, in which there was a fetal type of posterior cerebral artery that was continuously delineated from the internal carotid artery (ICA) through the posterior communicating artery. All other variations in the circle of Willis were defined as Type O (ordinary type of variations). An additional 440 patients who did not harbor cerebral aneurysms were randomly selected for a comparison. Anterior communicating artery aneurysms were significantly related to the Type A anatomy and ICA aneurysms to Type P anatomy. Male patients who did not harbor aneurysms tended to have Type A anatomy, whereas women had a significantly greater incidence of Type P. CONCLUSIONS: This sex-linked difference in anatomical variations may be correlated to the well-known sex-linked difference in aneurysm distribution.

Surgical management of aneurysms of the bifurcation of the internal carotid artery.

Internal carotid artery (ICA) bifurcation aneurysms are rare and easily bleed in younger patients, but are difficult to treat surgically, due to perforators surrounding and adherent to the aneurysm. A series of 25 patients treated by clipping under the operating microscope are analyzed and compared with previous cases. Twenty-five patients, 11 men and 14 women (mean age 51 years), were treated by the same neurosurgeon. Seventeen patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (Hunt & Kosnik Grade I in three, II in five, III in two, IV in seven), five with unruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysms, and three with unruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysms but another ruptured aneurysm. There were 23 small, one large, and one giant ICA bifurcation aneurysms. The projection was superior in 12, anterior in seven, and posterior in six cases. Pterional approach was employed for all cases. Outcomes were evaluated at discharge with the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Favorable outcomes (good recovery (GR) and moderate disability (MD)) were obtained in ten of 17 patients with ruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysm. Favorable outcomes were significantly greater in Grades I and II (three in I, four in II) than in Grades III and IV (one in III, two in IV; P=0.0498). Seven of eight patients with unruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysm had favorable outcomes. Temporary clipping and projection of the aneurysm did not affect the outcome. Causative factors of unfavorable outcomes were primary brain damage in cases of small and large aneurysms and perforator damage in the case of giant aneurysm. Poor clinical grade and vasospasm are the causative factors of poor outcome in patients with ruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysm. Preservation of perforators is crucial in cases of giant aneurysm. Clipping of unruptured ICA bifurcation aneurysms is recommended since they tend to bleed at a lower age than other aneurysms.