Chronic intractable lumbosacral radicular pain, is there a remedy? Pulsed radiofrequency treatment and volumetric modifications of the lumbar dorsal root ganglia.

PURPOSE: Evaluation of clinical and radiological effects of the therapeutic outcome of CT-guided pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment adjacent to the lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) for patients with chronic intractable lumbosacral radicular pain in a single-center prospective longitudinal study in order to evaluate predictive factors of safety and therapeutic success. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients, from 2016 to 2018, were enrolled (age: 42-80 aa, 66.7% men and 33.3% females) with low back pain, lumbosciatalgia and/or lumbocruralgia, resistant to previous medical and physical treatments for a period not < 3 months, failure of surgical and chemiodiscolysis with ozone oxygen therapy. Each patient was subjected to a clinical evaluation (antalgic walking, sensitive deficit, interviews with specific questionnaires: ODI, RDQ,VAS) and to a radiological evaluation with MRI examination, before and 30 days after the CT-guided PRF treatment. Measurements of the thickness of the involved and not involved DRG were taken using common postprocessing software of MRI examinations in order to have measurement parameters for comparison. We analyzed the clinical course using the paired samples T test in order to evaluate modification for each clinical and radiological parameter (statistical significance p < 0.05). RESULTS: Significant improvements of the clinical outcomes with a good resolution of the pain symptoms (VAS evaluation: The score fell from 68.47 to 39.17 with a difference of 29.3 and a reduction of the 42.79% in the perceived pain, p = 0.00000152). The thickness of DRG falls from an average media of 0.586-0.448 cm (p = 0.000085), with a difference of 0.138 cm and a percentage reduction of 22.30%. CONCLUSIONS: PRF treatment of the DRG may be considered for patients with chronic severe lumbosacral radicular pain refractory to conventional medical management when other noninvasive or surgical procedures fail. It is minimally invasive, inexpensive and simple to perform with no complications.

Imaging findings in hypophysitis: a review.

Hypophysitis (HP) is a rare acute or chronic inflammatory condition of the pituitary gland. The greatest challenge in the management of HP is establishing a diagnosis through clinical criteria and non-invasive methods and predicting the patients' clinical outcome. The aim of this review is to describe the neuroradiological findings of this rare disease, providing some information regarding the possible differential diagnosis in order to avoid unnecessary surgery. Gadolinium-enhanced pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered the neuroradiological investigation of choice. The features suggestive for HP include an enlarged triangular- or dumbbell-shaped gland with a thickened and not obviously deviated stalk, further supported by the absence of posterior pituitary bright spot on T1weighted images, particularly in patients presenting with diabetes insipidus. Contrast enhancement pattern is quite variable; dural enhancement has been reported in some cases after intravenous contrast administration. The characterization of the unusual sellar mass is not straightforward and generally results in a wide differential. HP should be primarily differentiated from pituitary adenomas (including pituitary apoplexy), from pituitary metastases, and from other sellar and parasellar tumors, e.g., craniopharyngiomas, germinomas, gliomas, lymphomas, meningiomas, pituicytomas, chordomas, teratomas, dermoids and epidermoids, Rathke's cleft cysts, and abscesses. In patients suspected for secondary forms related to systemic pathology, additional imaging is helpful in identifying other involved sites. Neuroradiologists need to know MRI appearance of this rare disease, as well as its typical symptoms and serological markers. A strict collaboration with endocrinologists and neurosurgeons is mandatory in order to reach a definitive diagnosis, allowing to promptly initiating an appropriate treatment.

Dilated perivascular spaces and fatigue: is there a link? Magnetic resonance retrospective 3Tesla study.

INTRODUCTION: Fatigue (F) is a common, inexplicable, and disabling symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a possible correlation between fatigue and morpho-volumetric features and site of dilated perivascular spaces (dPS), visible on 3T magnetic resonance (MR) in fatigued multiple sclerosis patients (FMS). METHODS: We studied 82 relapsing remitting (RR) FMS patients and 43 HC, matched for age, sex, and education. F was assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). To evaluate a possible correlation between degree of F and characteristics of dPS, patients were divided in two groups: more (mFMS) (FSS ≥ 5; n = 30) and less fatigued (lFMS) (FSS ≥ 4; n = 52), compared to a matched healthy control (HC) subject group. The MR study was performed with 3T scanner by SpinEcho T1, Fast-SpinEcho DP-T2, FLAIR, and 3D FSPGR T1 sequences. dPS volumes were measured with Medical Image Processing Analysis and Visualization (MIPAV); Global Cerebral Atrophy (GCA), expressed as Brain Parenchymal Fraction (BPF), was assessed by FSL SIENAX. RESULTS: The t test showed significantly increased dPS number (p = 0.021) in FMS patients (mFMS p = 0.0024 and lFMS p = 0.033) compared to HC. Pearson correlation revealed a significant correlation between dPS number and FSS (r = 0.208 p = 0.051). Furthermore, the chi-squared test confirms the intragroup (HC, mFMS, lFMS) differences about dPS location (p = 0.01) and size (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that PS in MS patients presents with different volumetric and site characteristics as compared to HC; moreover, F severity significantly correlates with dPS number, site, and size.

Diagnostic accuracy of short-time inversion recovery sequence in Graves' Ophthalmopathy before and after prednisone treatment.

INTRODUCTION: In Graves' Ophthalmopathy, it is important to distinguish active inflammatory phase, responsive to immunosuppressive treatment, from fibrotic unresponsive inactive one. The purpose of this study is, first, to identify the relevant orbital magnetic resonance imaging signal intensities before treatment, so to classify patients according to their clinical activity score (CAS), discriminating inactive (CAS < 3) from active Graves' Ophthalmopathy (GO) (CAS > 3) subjects and, second, to follow post-steroid treatment disease. METHODS: An observational study was executed on 32 GO consecutive patients in different phases of disease, based on clinical and orbital Magnetic Resonance Imaging parameters, compared to 32 healthy volunteers. Orbital Magnetic Resonance Imaging was performed on a 1.5 tesla Magnetic Resonance Unit by an experienced neuroradiologist blinded to the clinical examinations. RESULTS: In pre-therapy patients, compared to controls, a medial rectus muscle statistically significant signal intensity ratio (SIR) in short-time inversion recovery (STIR) (long TR/TE) sequence was found, as well as when comparing patients before and after treatment, both medial and inferior rectus muscle SIR resulted significantly statistically different in STIR. These increased outcomes explain the inflammation oedematous phase of disease, moreover after steroid administration, compared to controls; patients presented lack of that statistically significant difference, thus suggesting treatment effectiveness. CONCLUSION: In our study, we proved STIR signal intensities increase in inflammation oedematous phase, confirming STIR sequence to define active phase of disease with more sensibility and reproducibility than CAS alone and to evaluate post-therapy involvement.

Dilated Virchow-Robin spaces and multiple sclerosis: 3 T magnetic resonance study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess differences in the presence, size, number and site of dilated cerebral Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSd) between patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the inactive phase and healthy controls, and between MS patients with disabling (MSd) or nondisabling (MSnd) disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was performed by retrospectively analysing the 3 T magnetic resonance studies of 40 MS patients and 30 healthy subjects (matched for age, education and gender). The data were analysed with MIPAV (Medical Image Processing, Analysis and Visualisation) software to assess for VRSd and with FSL SIENA-X to measure global cerebral atrophy (GCA) expressed as brain parenchyma fraction. RESULTS: The MS patients had significantly higher VRSd number (p < 0.011), area (p < 0.0073) and volume (p < 0.0071) than controls, with a marked increase for atypical sites (p < 0.0069) without significant intragroup differences between the disease forms (MSd vs MSnd). The number and size of VRSd did not correlate with GCA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm previous reports regarding the increase in VRSd in nonactive phases of MS and support the immunological role of the VRS within the central nervous system. The lack of correlation between VRSd and the degree of GCA and their prevailing localisation in atypical sites in MS patients make VRSd a potential marker of inflammatory-demyelinating disease.

Disrupted default mode network connectivity in migraine without aura.

BACKGROUND: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has demonstrated disrupted default mode network (DMN) connectivity in a number of pain conditions, including migraine. However, the significance of altered resting-state brain functional connectivity in migraine is still unknown. The present study is aimed to explore DMN functional connectivity in patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) and investigate its clinical significance. METHODS: To calculate and compare the resting-state functional connectivity of the DMN in 20 patients with MwoA, during the interictal period, and 20 gender- and age-matched HC, Brain Voyager QX was used. Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess whether between-group differences in DMN functional connectivity were related to structural differences. Secondary analyses explored associations between DMN functional connectivity, clinical and neuropsychological features of migraineurs. RESULTS: In comparison to HC, patients with MwoA showed decreased connectivity in prefrontal and temporal regions of the DMN. Functional abnormalities were unrelated to detectable structural abnormalities or clinical and neuropsychological features of migraineurs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides further evidence of disrupted DMN connectivity in patients with MwoA. We hypothesize that a DMN dysfunction may be related to behavioural processes such as a maladaptive response to stress which seems to characterize patients with migraine.

Trigeminal neuralgia and persistent trigeminal artery.

We report a case of trigeminal neuralgia caused by persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) associated with asymptomatic left temporal cavernoma. Our patient presented unstable blood hypertension and the pain of typical trigeminal neuralgia over the second and third divisions of the nerve in the right side of the face. The attacks were often precipitated during physical exertion. MRI and Angio-MRI revealed the persistent carotid basilar anastomosis and occasionally left parietal cavernoma. After drug treatment of blood hypertension, spontaneous recovery of neuralgia was observed and we planned surgical treatment of left temporal cavernoma.

Independent component model of the default-mode brain function: combining individual-level and population-level analyses in resting-state fMRI.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) is a technique used to investigate the spontaneous correlations of blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals across different regions of the brain. Using functional connectivity tools, it is possible to investigate a specific RS-fMRI network, referred to as "default-mode" (DM) network, that involves cortical regions deactivated in fMRI experiments with cognitive tasks. Previous works have reported a significant effect of aging on DM regions activity. Independent component analysis (ICA) is often used for generating spatially distributed DM functional connectivity patterns from RS-fMRI data without the need for a reference region. This aspect and the relatively easy setup of an RS-fMRI experiment even in clinical trials have boosted the combined use of RS-fMRI and ICA-based DM analysis for noninvasive research of brain disorders. In this work, we considered different strategies for combining ICA results from individual-level and population-level analyses and used them to evaluate and predict the effect of aging on the DM component. Using RS-fMRI data from 20 normal subjects and a previously developed group-level ICA methodology, we generated group DM maps and showed that the overall ICA-DM connectivity is negatively correlated with age. A negative correlation of the ICA voxel weights with age existed in all DM regions at a variable degree. As an alternative approach, we generated a distributed DM spatial template and evaluated the correlation of each individual DM component fit to this template with age. Using a "leave-one-out" procedure, we discuss the importance of removing the bias from the DM template-generation process.

Problem in diagnostic radiology.

The case of a 58-year-old woman is described. She presented with what initially seemed to be a transient ischaemic attack. Clinical imaging, however,revealed an intracranial lipoma of the cisterna magna associated with a defect of the occipital bone and spina bifida occulta of the atlas.

Dilated Virchow-Robin space and Parkinson's disease: A case report of combined MRI and diffusion tensor imaging.

In this manuscript we report the case of a 69-year-old female patient, who suffers from Parkinson's disease (PD) with a dilated Virchow-Robin space (dVRS) on the left anterior perforated substance. During a magnetic resonance imaging examination, the presence of a dVRS was discovered on the left anterior perforated substance. Subsequently, the patient has been subjected to further investigation of magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The DTI data of our PD patient showed increased peak frequency of left fractional anisotropy and decreases in the distribution of Mean Diffusivity(MD) with changes in the fiber density compared to the normal contralateral tract. We hypothesize that the DTI changes are due to dVRS. In the text a review of the recent literature on the presence of dVRSs, located in mono and bilateral seat, in patients with PD is reported, explaining its possible implications on disease progression, cognitive decline, and worsening of symptoms.

Bullying at Workplace and Brain-Imaging Correlates.

The relationship between psychosocial stress at work and mental health outcome is well-known. Brain-imaging studies hypothesize morphological brain modifications connected to work-related stress. To our knowledge this is the first study describing the link between work characteristics and brain imaging in a sample of work-related psychiatric patients assessed according to standardized clinical and diagnostic criteria. The aims of the study are: (1) to evaluate hippocampal and whole brain volumes in work-related psychiatric disturbances; (2) to verify the relationship between brain changes and the anxious and/or depressive symptoms; (3) to observe the relationship between the brain changes and the degree of the bullying at workplace. The hippocampus and whole brain volumes of 23 patients with work-related adjustment-disorders were compared with 15 controls by means of MRI. MR images highlight a smaller hippocampal volume in patients compared with controls. Significant reduction in the patients' gray matter was found in three brain areas: right inferior temporal gyrus, left cuneus, left inferior occipital gyrus. The reduction of the hippocampi volumes was related to work distress and, above all, to bullying at workplace. The results confirm that the morphological brain abnormalities could be involved in work-related psychiatric disturbances.

Predictors of tumor shrinkage after primary therapy with somatostatin analogs in acromegaly: a prospective study in 99 patients.

CONTEXT: Primary treatment with depot octreotide and lanreotide induces tumor shrinkage in newly diagnosed patients with acromegaly. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate clinical predictors of tumor shrinkage. DESIGN: This was an analytical, observational, open, prospective study. SUBJECTS: The study included 99 patients: 13 with microadenoma and 86 with macroadenoma (25 enclosed, 32 extrasellar, 29 invasive). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age, gender, estimated disease duration, body mass index, GH and IGF-I levels, and tumor volume at diagnosis and after 12 months of treatment were measured. Percentage of GH, IGF-I, and tumor size changes from baseline were also analyzed. Tumor changes were scored as absent (+/- 0-25%), mild (+/- 25.1-50%), moderate (+/- 50.1-75%), or notable (75%). INTERVENTIONS: Sixty patients (60.6%) received depot octreotide im (20-30 mg every 28 d), and 39 patients (39.4%) received lanreotide im (60-90 mg every 28 d). RESULTS: Basal tumor volume and maximal tumor diameter correlated with age, disease duration, and GH levels. After 12 months, GH levels were controlled (

Independent component model of the default-mode brain function: Assessing the impact of active thinking.

The "default-mode" network is an ensemble of cortical regions, which are typically deactivated during demanding cognitive tasks in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Using functional connectivity, this network can be conceptualized and studied as a "stand-alone" function or system. Regardless of the task, independent component analysis (ICA) produces a picture of the "default-mode" function even when the subject is performing a simple sensori-motor task or just resting in the scanner. This has boosted the use of default-mode fMRI for non-invasive research in brain disorders. Here, we studied the effect of cognitive load modulation of fMRI responses on the ICA-based pictures of the default-mode function. In a standard graded working memory study based on the n-back task, we used group-level ICA to explore the variability of the default-mode network related to the engagement in the task, in 10 healthy volunteers. The analysis of the default-mode components highlighted similarities and differences in the layout under three different cognitive loads. We found a load-related general increase of deactivation in the cortical network. Nonetheless, a variable recruitment of the cingulate regions was evident, with greater extension of the anterior and lesser extension of the posterior clusters when switching from lower to higher working memory loads. A co-activation of the hippocampus was only found under no working memory load. As a generalization of our results, the variability of the default-mode pattern may link the default-mode system as a whole to cognition and may more directly support use of the ICA model for evaluating cognitive decline in brain disorders.

Brain MRI abnormalities in the adult form of myotonic dystrophy type 1: A longitudinal case series study.

This study aimed to verify whether brain abnormalities, previously described in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), progressed over time and, if so, to characterize their progression. Thirteen DM1 patients, who had at least two MRI examinations, were retrospectively evaluated and included in the study. The mean duration (± standard deviation) of follow-up was 13.4 (±3.8) years, over a range of 7-20 years. White matter lesions (WMLs) were rated by semi-quantitative method, the signal intensity of white matter poster-superior to trigones (WMPST) by reference to standard images and brain atrophy by ventricular/brain ratio (VBR). At the end of MRI follow-up, the scores relative to lobar, temporal and periventricular WMLs, to WMPST signal intensity and to VBR were significantly increased compared to baseline, and MRI changes were more evident in some families than in others. No correlation was found between the MRI changes and age, onset, disease duration, muscular involvement, CTG repetition and follow-up duration. These results demonstrated that white matter involvement and brain atrophy were progressive in DM1 and suggested that progression rate varied from patient to patient, regardless of age, disease duration and genetic defect.

Brainstem variant of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: A case report.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinico-radiological condition, generally observed in conjunction with severe and acute hypertension, that involves mainly the posterior head areas (occipital and temporal lobes) and anterior "watershed" areas. In this syndrome it is rare to observe a predominant involvement of the brainstem. We describe the clinical and radiological findings in a patient with brainstem involvement, discussing its pathophysiological features and possible differential diagnosis.

The treatment with pasireotide in Cushing's disease: effects of long-term treatment on tumor mass in the experience of a single center.

Pasireotide is the first medical therapy officially approved for the treatment of adult patients with Cushing's disease (CD) who experienced a failure of pituitary surgery or are not candidates for surgery and require medical therapeutic intervention. The current study aimed at investigating the effects of long-term treatment with pasireotide (up to 24 months) on tumor mass in a group of patients with CD, participating to a phase III study. Fourteen CD patients entered the phase III clinical trial CSOM230B2305 at Naples Center, and eight (seven women, one man, aged 38.9 ± 17.6 years), including seven with a microadenoma and one with a macroadenoma, received treatment with pasireotide at the dose of 600-1200 µg bid for at least 6 months, and were considered for the analysis of the study. These eight patients were subjected to the evaluation of pituitary tumor volume by pituitary MRI, together with the evaluation of urinary cortisol levels, at baseline and every 6 months for the entire period of treatment. Pasireotide treatment induced full disease control in 37.5 % and partial disease control in 37.5 % after 6 months, whereas full and partial disease control after 12 months was obtained in 28.6 % and in 57.1 % of patients, respectively. A significant (>25 %) reduction in tumor volume was found in 62.5 % and in 100 % of patients, after 6 and 12 months, respectively. In particular, after 6 months, a slight tumor shrinkage (between 25.1 and 50 %) was observed in 25 %, moderate (50.1-75 %) in 25 %, and marked (>75 %) in 12.5 % of patients, whereas after 12 months, a slight tumor shrinkage was observed in 43 %, moderate in 14 %, and marked in 43 % of patients. In 25 % of patients (two patients), a marked tumor shrinkage was recorded, with tumor mass disappearance in one case; this tumor shrinkage was associated to rapid and sustained biochemical remission up to 24 months of continuous pasireotide treatment. These two cases represent the first cases with a documentation of such a notable effect of pasireotide on tumor mass. Pasireotide induces significant tumor shrinkage in 62.5 % of patients after 6 months and in 100 % of patients after 12 months, and occasionally induces a radiological disappearance of the tumor. This evidence supports and strengthens the role of pasireotide as medical treatment specifically addressed to patients with CD, particularly in those who had unsuccessful pituitary surgery, or are not candidates for surgery.

Differential sex-independent amygdala response to infant crying and laughing in parents versus nonparents.

BACKGROUND: Animal and human studies implicate forebrain neural circuits in maternal behavior. Here, we hypothesized that human brain response to emotional stimuli relevant for social interactions between infants and adults are modulated by sex- and experience-dependent factors. METHODS: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and examined brain response to infant crying and laughing in mothers and fathers of young children and in women and men without children. RESULTS: Women but not men, independent of their parental status, showed neural deactivation in the anterior cingulate cortex, as indexed by decreased blood oxygenation level-dependent signal, in response to both infant crying and laughing. The response pattern changed fundamentally with parental experience: in the amygdala and interconnected limbic regions, parents (independent of sex) showed stronger activation from crying, whereas nonparents showed stronger activation from laughing. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show sex- and experience-dependent modulation of brain response to infant vocalizations. Successful recognition and evaluation of infant vocalizations can be critical for bonding mechanisms and for offspring well-being and survival. Thus, the modulation of responses by experience seems to represent an adaptive mechanism that can be related to reproductive fitness.

Coordinate and categorical judgements in spatial imagery. An fMRI study.

We aimed at verifying whether the hemispheric specialisation for categorical/coordinate spatial judgements also applies to the spatial imagery domain by the use of whole-brain fMRI. In a block-design experiment we used the "coordinate" mental clock test, contrasting it with a "categorical" task applied to the same clock stimuli; as a control task we used a syllable counting task requiring a verbal-phonological judgement on the same material of the two imagery tasks. Our results showed that categorical and coordinate spatial judgements on imagined stimuli rely on the activation of a set of cortical areas, centred upon the superior parietal lobule (SPL) bilaterally. These regions, together with other parietal and prefrontal areas, showed a pattern of relative lateralization, with the left hemisphere being mainly activated during the categorical task and the right in the coordinate task. These data confirm the strong involvement of the SPL in spatial processing. Moreover, our findings suggest that different interconnected neural networks are activated to comply with specific test requirements, giving rise to functional imaging patterns compatible with psychological theories on hemispheric specialization.

fMRI of the auditory system: understanding the neural basis of auditory gestalt.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has rapidly become the most widely used imaging method for studying brain functions in humans. This is a result of its extreme flexibility of use and of the astonishingly detailed spatial and temporal information it provides. Nevertheless, until very recently, the study of the auditory system has progressed at a considerably slower pace compared to other functional systems. Several factors have limited fMRI research in the auditory field, including some intrinsic features of auditory functional anatomy and some peculiar interactions between fMRI technique and audition. A well known difficulty arises from the high intensity acoustic noise produced by gradient switching in echo-planar imaging (EPI), as well as in other fMRI sequences more similar to conventional MR sequences. The acoustic noise interacts in an unpredictable way with the experimental stimuli both from a perceptual point of view and in the evoked hemodynamics. To overcome this problem, different approaches have been proposed recently that generally require careful tailoring of the experimental design and the fMRI methodology to the specific requirements posed by the auditory research. The novel methodological approaches can make the fMRI exploration of auditory processing much easier and more reliable, and thus may permit filling the gap with other fields of neuroscience research. As a result, some fundamental neural underpinnings of audition are being clarified, and the way sound stimuli are integrated in the auditory gestalt are beginning to be understood.