MRI assessment of internal acoustic canal variations using 3D-FIESTA sequences.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the internal acoustic canal is the standard diagnostic tool for a wide range of indications in patients. This study aims to investigate the vascular variations and compression of the cranial nerves (CNs) VII and VIII at the cerebellopontine angle in patients with neuro-otologic symptoms using 3D-fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (FIESTA) MR imaging. One hundred and eighty-seven patients (374 temporal bones) were examined on a 1.5-T MRI. In addition to conventional MR sequences, a 3D-FIESTA MR imaging was acquired. Magnetic resonance images thus obtained were evaluated with special regard to the presence of vascular contact to the CNs VII and VIII, as well as the presence of the vascular variations of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) causing the compression of CNs. The Chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis. No statistically significant differences were found between the presence and absence of the AICA loop and/or vascular contact for the clinical symptoms of patients (P > 0.05). The cisternal and canalicular segments of CNs VII and VIII and adjacent vascular variations are well identified using 3D-FIESTA, especially by determining the relationship of the AICA variations between CNs.

Clinical and MRI findings of cerebellar agenesis in two living adult patients.

Cerebellar agenesis (CA) is an extremely rare entity. We present two adult patients with CA. The 61-year-old man had ataxia, dysarthria, abnormalities in cerebellar tests, severe cognitive impairment, and moderate mental retardation. The 26-year-old woman had dysmetria, dysdiadochokinesia, and dysarthria as well as mild cognitive impairment and mild mental retardation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed complete absence of the cerebellum with small residual vermis. Brainstem was hypoplastic and structures above tentorium were normal. Supratentorial white matter bundles were unaffected in diffusion tensor tractography. Only few adult patients with CA have so far been published. These cases show that patients with CA present with a variety of developmental, clinical, and mental abnormalities; and emphasize the role of the cerebellum in normal motor, language, and mental development.

An unusual Hodgkin's lymphoma case presenting with upper extremity multiple masses.

Almost always, Hodgkin's lymphoma presents with lymph node involvement. Primary extranodal lymphoma is rare and mostly has a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We present an unusual presentation of a Hodgkin's lymphoma in a 33-year-old man. There were numerous soft tissue masses localized in the subcutaneous tissue of the left arm along the neurovascular bundle and the ipsilateral axillary region. We found only one Hodgkin's lymphoma case that presented as an upper extremity mass reported in the literature. In cases where a great number of successively lined up soft tissue masses are detected on the extremity, lymphoma takes place among the differential diagnoses.