MR Imaging Features of the Cerebellum in Adult-Onset Neuronal Intranuclear Inclusion Disease: 8 Cases.

Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease is a neurodegenerative disorder pathologically characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions. A high-intensity signal along the corticomedullary junction on DWI has been described as a specific MR imaging finding of the cerebrum in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease. However, MR imaging findings of the cerebellum in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease have not been fully evaluated. Here, we review MR imaging findings of the cerebellum in a series of 8 patients with pathologically confirmed neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease. The MR imaging results showed cerebellar atrophy (8/8 patients) and high-intensity signal on FLAIR images in the medial part of the cerebellar hemisphere right beside the vermis (the "paravermal area") (6/8) and in the middle cerebellar peduncle (4/8). The paravermal abnormal signals had a characteristic distribution, and they could be an indicator of the diagnosis of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease even when using the results of past MR imaging examinations in which DWI findings were not examined.

Quiet T1-Weighted Pointwise Encoding Time Reduction with Radial Acquisition for Assessing Myelination in the Pediatric Brain.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: T1-weighted pointwise encoding time reduction with radial acquisition (PETRA) sequences require limited gradient activity and allow quiet scanning. We aimed to assess the usefulness of PETRA in pediatric brain imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included consecutive pediatric patients who underwent both MPRAGE and PETRA. The contrast-to-noise and contrast ratios between WM and GM were compared in the cerebellar WM, internal capsule, and corpus callosum. The degree of myelination was rated by using 4-point scales at each of these locations plus the subcortical WM in the anterior frontal, anterior temporal, and posterior occipital lobes. Two radiologists made all assessments, and the intra- and interrater agreement was calculated by using intraclass correlation coefficients. Acoustic noise on MPRAGE and PETRA was measured. RESULTS: We included 56 patients 5 days to 14 years of age (mean age, 36.6 months) who underwent both MPRAGE and PETRA. The contrast-to-noise and contrast ratios for PETRA were significantly higher than those for MPRAGE (P < .05), excluding the signal ratio for cerebellar WM. Excellent intra- and interrater agreement were obtained for myelination at all locations except the cerebellar WM. The acoustic noise on PETRA (58.2 dB[A]) was much lower than that on MPRAGE (87.4 dB[A]). CONCLUSIONS: PETRA generally showed better objective imaging quality without a difference in subjective image-quality evaluation and produced much less acoustic noise compared with MPRAGE. We conclude that PETRA can substitute for MPRAGE in pediatric brain imaging.