Neural activation during cognitive reappraisal in girls at high risk for depression.

OBJECTIVE: Although emotion dysregulation, one of the core features of depression, has long been thought to be a vulnerability factor for major depressive disorder (MDD), surprisingly few functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have investigated neural correlates of emotion regulation strategies in unaffected high risk individuals. METHOD: Sixteen high risk (RSK) young women and fifteen matched low risk controls (CTL) were scanned using fMRI while performing an emotion regulation task. During this task, participants were instructed to reappraise their negative emotions elicited by International Affective Picture System images (IAPS). In addition, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Strategies Scale (DERS) was used to assess participants' emotion dysregulation levels. RESULTS: Both RSK and CTL individuals show increased amygdala activation in response to negative emotional stimuli, however no difference was found between groups in using cognitive reappraisal strategies and functions of brain regions implicated in cognitive reappraisal. Interestingly, our psychometric test results indicate that high risk individuals are characterised by lower perceived emotional clarity (EC). CONCLUSION: Results of the current study suggest depression vulnerability may not be linked to the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal. Alternatively, lower EC may be a vulnerability factor for depression.

The clinical spectrum of intracerebral hematoma, hemorrhagic infarct, non-hemorrhagic infarct, and non-lesional venous stroke in patients with cerebral sinus-venous thrombosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The clinical spectrum of different neuroradiological features of cerebral sinus-venous thrombosis (CSVT) varies considerably. We sought the relationship between different neuroradiological aspects and clinical presentations in these patients. METHODS: The diagnosis of cerebral sinus-venous thrombosis has been confirmed by conventional angiography, MRI combined with MR venography following established diagnostic criteria. We analyzed clinical data, symptoms and signs, imaging findings, location and extent of the thrombus, and parenchymal lesions, retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 220 consecutive patients with cerebral sinus-venous thrombosis; 98 (45%) had non-lesional sinus-venous thrombosis (NL CSVT), 51 (23%) had non-hemorrhagic infarct (NHI), 45 (20%) had hemorrhagic infarct (HI), and 26 (12%) had intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In patients with hemorrhagic lesion (HI+ICH), advanced age, headache (99%), behavioral disturbances (55%), consciousness disturbances (35%), seizures (41%), and language deficits (42%) were significantly higher than the other patients (NL+NHI) (P < 0.001). High blood pressure at admission, puerperium, sigmoid and straight sinus thrombosis, multiple sinus and vein involvement were more frequent in patients with hemorrhagic lesion than those with non-hemorrhagic lesion. Patients with hemorrhagic lesion were more dependent or died (32%) than the other patients (12%) (P < 0.001), and most of the patients with NL and NHI had no disability compared with the other patients at the 3 month of follow-up (96% and 65%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Headache, convulsion, behavioral disorder, seizures, and speech disorders were the most frequent clinical symptoms of patients with hemorrhagic CSVT. Specific risk factors, including pregnancy/puerberium, early and extended thrombosis of large sinus, and presence of high blood pressure at admission, are associated with hemorrhagic lesion and unfavorable outcome.

Brucellar spondylodiscitis: magnetic resonance imaging features with conventional sequences and diffusion-weighted imaging.

PURPOSE: In this retrospective study, we evaluated the contribution and role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in differentiating acute and chronic forms of brucellar spondylodiscitis. We also describe the characteristics and some indistinguishable features of brucellar spondylodiscitis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to emphasise the importance and limitations of MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MRI examinations of 25 patients with brucellar spondylodiscitis were retrospectively reviewed and analysed by two experienced radiologists. Signal and morphological changes were assessed. The imaging characteristics of acute and chronic forms of spondylodiscitis were compared. Both discriminative imaging findings of brucellar spondylodiscitis and some uncommon findings were interpreted. RESULTS: Of 25 patients with spinal brucellosis, eight had thoracic, ten had lumbar, five had both thoracic and lumbar and two had both lumbar and sacral vertebral involvement. We detected posterior longitudinal ligament elevation in 11 patients, epidural abscess formation in 11 and paravertebral abscess formation in nine. Ten patients had cord compression and eight had root compression. Three patients had facet-joint involvement, and one had erector spinae muscle involvement. Eight patients (32%) were in the acute stage, six (24%) in the subacute stage and 11 (44%) in the chronic stage. Vertebral bodies, vertebral end plates and intervertebral disc spaces were hypointense and hyperintense in the acute stage, whereas they were hypointense and heterogeneous in the subacute and chronic stages on T1- and T2-weighted images, respectively. In the acute stage on the DWI series, vertebral bodies, end plates and discs were all hyperintense but hypointense in the chronic stage. CONCLUSIONS: Although conventional MRI has several advantages over other imaging modalities and is very useful in the differential diagnosis between brucellar spondylodiscitis and other spinal pathologies, it has some difficulties in discriminating acute and chronic forms of spondylodiscitis. DWI is a sensitive, fast sequence that has the potential for differentiating acute and chronic forms of spondylodiscitis, which makes it crucial in spinal imaging.

Intracerebral metastasis showing restricted diffusion: correlation with histopathologic findings.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to detect the frequency of restricted diffusion in intracerebral metastases and to find whether there is correlation between the primary tumor pathology and diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) findings of these metastases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 87 patients with intracerebral metastases were examined with routine MR imaging and DWI. 11 hemorrhagic metastatic lesions were excluded. The routine MR imaging included three plans before and after contrast enhancement. The DWI was performed with spin-echo EPI sequence with three b values (0, 500 and 1000), and ADC maps were calculated. 76 patients with metastases were grouped according to primary tumor histology and the ratios of restricted diffusion were calculated according to these groups. ADCmin values were measured within the solid components of the tumors and the ratio of metastases with restricted diffusion to that which do not show restricted diffusion were calculated. Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Restricted diffusion was observed in a total of 15 metastatic lesions (19, 7%). Primary malignancy was lung carcinoma in 10 of these cases (66, 6%) (5 small cell carcinoma, 5 non-small cell carcinoma), and breast carcinoma in three cases (20%). Colon carcinoma and testicular teratocarcinoma were the other two primary tumors in which restricted diffusion in metastasis was detected. There was no statistical significant difference between the primary pathology groups which showed restricted diffusion (p>0.05). ADCmin values of solid components of the metastasis with restricted diffusion and other metastasis without restricted diffusion also showed no significant statistical difference (0.72+/-0.16x10(-3)mm(2)/s and 0.78+/-21x10(-3)mm(2)/s respectively) (p=0.325). CONCLUSION: Detection of restricted diffusion on DWI in intracerebral metastasis is not rare, particularly if the primary tumor is lung or breast cancer. However we found that there is no correlation between the metastasis showing restricted diffusion and primary pathology. Prospective studies with larger groups and more information are necessary regarding the correlation between the primary tumor histopathology and the ADC values of metastasis with restricted diffusion.

Anaplastic astroblastoma of childhood: aggressive behavior.

OBJECTIVE: Astroblastoma is an unusual brain tumor in childhood. Tumor usually arises from cerebral hemispheres. This large tumor is well-demarcated, lobulated, solid or cystic, and therefore, may resemble glioblastoma. Histopathologically, there are two types of astroblastoma: well-differentiated (low-grade) or anaplastic (high-grade). In low-grade astroblastoma, treatment of choice is complete excision. This type of tumor usually does not recur. However, anaplastic tumors can recur despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy and may be problematic for clinician. CASE REPORT: A 7-year-old female patient presented with an acute onset of vomiting and seizure. Magnetic resonance imaging study revealed a large mass in the left parieto-occipital region. She underwent total excision of the tumor. Histopathologically, the tumor was an anaplastic astroblastoma. Her adjuvant treatment was planned to consist of radiation therapy and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, the tumor recurred early in the course, and she died 18 months after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: High-grade astroblastomas behave like glioblastoma, as emphasized in this case report. Local control of this type of tumor seems difficult despite surgery, radiation therapy, and cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Cerebral cortical and deep venous thrombosis without sinus thrombosis: clinical MRI correlates.

BACKGROUND: Cortical and/or deep vein thrombosis (CDVT) without dural sinus involvement is uncommon and presents diagnostic difficulty for many reasons. Our aim is to determine the relationship between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and clinical findings in patients with CDVT. METHODS: Forty-six patients with venous stroke proved on MRI included in our Registry, corresponding to 0.1% of 4650 patients with stroke, were studied. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in all patients, and 18 of them had follow-up MRA. Outcome was evaluated by using the Glasgow Outcome Scale at the time of discharge and during follow-up. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients presented cortical venous stroke; 21 of them had involvement of the dorsomedial venous system, six had a defect in the posteroinferior venous group, and five had a defect in the anteroinferior venous group. Thirteen patients presented simultaneous involvement of the superficial and deep venous system; seven with a defect in the parietal and internal cerebral veins (three with involvement of vein of Gallen), four with a defect in the temporooccipital (vein of Labbé) and basal vein of Rosenthal, two with a deficit in the anterior frontotemporal and uncal-pterygoid venous system. One patient had deep venous thrombosis primarily localized to the thalami bilaterally and the basal ganglia on the right because of occlusion of the thalamostriate veins. The main presenting symptoms of CDVT were headache, focal neurologic signs, partial complex or secondary generalized seizures, and consciousness disturbances in those with deep venous thrombosis, presented alone or in combination at onset. CDVT was more than twofold more frequent in women than in men. Pregnancy, puerperium, oral contraceptive use, and infections were the most common predisposing factors. CONCLUSION: Computerized tomography, conventional MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging showing ischemic and/or hemorrhagic lesion that does not follow the boundary of classical arterial boundaries without signs of sinus thrombosis, and partial or generalized seizures followed by focal neurologic signs may predict CDVT. The outcome of patients with cortical venous stroke was good, but not in those with cortical plus deep venous infarction.

Identification of axonal involvement in Hallervorden-Spatz disease with magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Hallervorden-Spatz disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with cysteine-iron complex accumulation typically seen as bilateral symmetrical hypointense signal changes in the medial globus pallidus on magnetic resonance imaging. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify and quantify neuronal damage in two siblings with Hallervorden-Spatz disease. The first patient presenting with a rapidly progressive extrapyramidal syndrome had markedly decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) to creatinine (Cr) ratios in the globus pallidi and the periatrial white matter. He also had increased myoinositol (mI) to creatinine (Cr) ratios implying glial proliferation in the affected regions. However the second patient who had the initial presentation of disease had normal NAA/Cr and mI/Cr ratios. These findings indicate that the quantification of NAA:Cr and mI:Cr ratios might be used to predict the extent of neuronal axonal loss and glial proliferation in patients with Hallervorden-Spatz disease respectively.

Traumatic Nerve Root Avulsion and Pseudomeningocele Diagnosed by Three Dimensional MRI Technique (CISS Sequence). A Case Report.

This case report demonstrates the importance of the CISS sequence, a fast imaging technique in MRI, in case of suspected nerve root avulsion. We present a case of traumatic pseudomeningoceles at T1-T2 root levels with right T2 ventral root avulsion without associated skeletal fracture diagnosed by MRI using the three dimensional CISS technique. A 28-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department following a motorcycle accident. Clinical examination revealed paresis in intrinsic muscles of the right hand. Traumatic pseudomeningoceles at T1-T2 root levels bilaterally with right T2 ventral root avulsion without associated skeletal fracture were diagnosed by three dimensional cervicothoracic MRI with CISS technique.

Role of the constructive interference in steady-state sequence in the classification of sacral meningeal cysts.

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of the CISS (constructive interference in steady state) sequence in sacral meningeal cysts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with sacral meningeal cysts were included. Conventional T1W and T2W sequences and the CISS sequence (TR/TE = 12.25/5.90) were obtained at 1.5-T. The 1-mm-thick base images and multiplanar reformatted images of the CISS sequence were studied. The sacral meningeal cysts were classified by the CISS sequence in accordance with the previously described surgical and histopathological criteria. RESULTS: A total of 25 sacral meningeal cysts were identified in the 14 patients. The cysts and their contents were visualized by the CISS sequence, and the CISS sequence was superior to the T1W and T2W images. Fifteen of the cysts were consistent with type I lesions (extradural meningeal cysts without nerve fibers inside) and 10 cysts with type II lesions (extradural meningeal cysts with nerve fibers inside). There were no type III lesions (intradural meningeal cysts) in the sacral region. CONCLUSION: Previous studies have indicated that conventional MRI as well as magnetic resonance myelography are inconsistent for a classification of sacral meningeal cysts. The CISS sequence with its capability to obtain T2W thin slice acquisitions is superior in showing the nerve root fibers contained in the cysts, which is essential in the differentiation of type I and II cysts. Application of the CISS sequence is recommended in the diagnosis of sacral meningeal cysts.

Wallenberg's lateral medullary syndrome: diffusion-weighted imaging findings.

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of diffusion-weighted imaging in patients with Wallenberg's lateral medullary syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen patients with Wallenberg's lateral medullary syndrome were examined with conventional and echoplanar diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in a 1.5 T magnetic resonance unit. MR examinations were obtained in the acute or subacute stage of clinical syndrome, and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was considered to be positive for infarction when an increase in signal was seen on b = 1000 s/mm2 images in the posterolateral medullary localization. RESULTS: DWIs were positive in 12 patients in the acute or subacute stages of this clinical syndrome. A false-negative result was obtained in only one patient examined within the first day, 10 h after onset of the symptoms. In the visual evaluation of the DWI, the contrast between normal and infarcted brainstem area was better in the high b-value images than in the apparent diffusion coefficient map images. CONCLUSION: DWI is a valuable technique for examining patients presenting with the signs and symptoms of Wallenberg's syndrome and high b-value images can provide complementary data to T2-weighted images. However, because most of our case group were in either the acute or subacute stage, true sensitivity of the method in the hyperacute stage of the syndrome remains unclear.

Report of diffusion-weighted MRI in two cases with different cerebral hydatid disease.

PURPOSE: To present MRI findings in two cases of cerebral hydatid disease with an emphasis on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings of Echinococcus granulosus (EG) versus Echinococcus alveolaris (EA). RESULTS: EG lesions were isointense with cerebrospinal fluid in all sequences including DWI. On DWI, EA lesions remained hypointense on b = 1000 s/mm2 diffusion-weighted images. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of EG and EA lesions were completely different from each other, 2.88 +/- 0.24 x 10(-3) s/mm2 and 1.33 +/- 0.15 x 10(-3) s/mm2, respectively. CONCLUSION: The ADC values could not be used to discriminate from other differential diagnoses.

Conventional and diffusion-weighted MR imaging of intracranial tuberculomas. A case report.

Intracranial tuberculoma is a rare form of central nervous system tuberculosis. We here report on conventional and diffusion-weighted cranial MR images of a non-immunocompromised patient with multiple intracranial tuberculomas, tuberculous lymphadenitis and pulmonary tuberculosis. Conventional MR imaging revealed multiple ring-enhancing mass lesions. At follow-up MR, appearances of both edema and number and size of nodules were decreased. Diffusion-weighted MR was normal and normal ADC values were found in this case of tuberculomas.

Proton MR spectroscopy in Rett syndrome.

Seven patients (mean age 7.7yr) with Rett syndrome, a condition with progressive regression of psychomotor development are included in this study. Proton MR spectroscopy images were obtained with the multivoxel chemical-shift imaging mode (TR=1500ms, TE=40ms). Spectra from 224 voxels in the brain parenchyma were studied. N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), and myoinositol (mI) peaks were quantitatively evaluated, and NAA/Cr, NAA/Cho, and Cho/Cr, mI/Cr ratios were calculated. Five age-matched normal cases were available as controls. In three patients with Rett syndrome spectroscopy findings were normal, and the metabolite ratios were similar to control cases. In the remaining four patients with the syndrome prominent decrease of the NAA peak was the main finding resulting in decreases in NAA/Cr (1.14+/-17), and NAA/Cho (1.08+/-27) ratios (p<0.0001). Cho/Cr ratios (0.93+/-26), and mI/Cr ratios (0.88+/-36) were normal compared to controls. There was no correlation between spectroscopic changes and clinical status of the patients. The findings suggested that not only reduced neuronal-dendritic arborizations but also decreased neuronal function could contribute to spectroscopy changes in Rett syndrome.

Proton MR spectroscopy in the diagnosis and differentiation of encephalitis from other mimicking lesions.

In this study, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) findings of encephalitis were reported. For comparison, other lesions mimicking encephalitis on conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were included in the study. These lesions consisted of acute infarctions and low grade infiltrative gliomas. The 1H MRS findings of encephalitis and gliomas were almost the same whereas infarctions revealed high lactate levels differentiating the disorder from other two pathologies. The differentiation of encephalitis and gliomas based on MR findings could reliably made with short time follow up MR examinations where gliomas tend to grow in contrast to encephalitis which showed regression.

Multiple, primary spinal-paraspinal hydatid cysts.

A patient is presented with widespread primary hydatid cysts in spinal-paraspinal locations, secondary to Echinococcus granulosus. An alternative mechanism to explain how the embryos gained access to the body is proposed: The embryos penetrated the intestinal muscle and may have directly entered into the inferior vena cava system through small venous connections between this system and portal circulation. Various conditions in daily life associated with Valsalva maneuver might have caused such an atypical passage of the embryos to the inferior caval system toward the retroperitoneum and spinal-paraspinal structures via lumber epidural venous plexuses.

Mesenteric Castleman's disease: case report.

An asymptomatic case of hyaline vascular-type Castleman's disease localized to the mesentery and detected incidentally by ultrasound is presented. Computed tomographic, angiographic, and histologic findings are reported. This type of Castleman's disease predominates in the thorax and is very rare in the mesentery.