RESUMEN

Congenital tumors are rare and, owing to this rarity, there is limited information on many of them. A total of 839 fetal and postnatal MRI studies performed in the first 3 months of life were retrospectively reviewed. They were performed with the use of 1.5 T scanners. Seventy-six tumors were diagnosed based on fetal MRI between 20 and 37 gestational weeks, and 27 were found after birth, from 1 day of age to 3 months of life. Teratomas were the most common tumors in our dataset, mainly in the sacrococcygeal region (SCT), followed by cardiac rhabdomyomas and subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGA) associated with TSC, and neuroblastomas. The group of less common tumors consisted of infantile fibrosarcomas, malignant rhabdoid tumors, mesoblastic nephromas and Wilms tumor, craniopharyngiomas, brain stem gliomas, desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma, choroid plexus carcinoma, glioblastoma, hemangiopericytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, melanoma, mesenchymal hamartomas of the chest wall and the liver, and juvenile xanthogranuloma, with special consideration of blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome. MRI plays a significant role in further and better characterization of congenital tumors, leading to a correct diagnosis in many cases, which is crucial for pregnancy and neonatal management and psychological preparation of the parents. No diagnosis is impossible and can be absolutely excluded.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) is a novel MRI sequence which demonstrates the susceptibility differences between adjacent tissues and it is promising to be a sequence useful in the assessment of brain tumors vascularity. The aim of our study was to demonstrate usefulness of SWI in evaluation of intratumoral vessels in comparison to CET1 sequence in a standardized, objective manner. MATERIAL/METHODS: 10 patients with supratentorial brain tumors were included in the study. All of them underwent conventional MRI examination with a 1,5 T scanner. SWI sequence was additionally performed using the following parameters: TR 49 ms,TE 40 ms. We used authors' personal computer software - Vessels View, to assess the vessels number. RESULTS: Comparison of SWI and CET1 sequences was performed using our program. Analysis of all 26 ROIs demonstrated predominance of SWI in the amount of white pixels (vessel cross-sectional) and a similar number of elongated structures (blood vessels). CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, the results of this study are encouraging; they confirm the added value of SWI as an appropriate and useful sequence in the process of evaluation of intratumoral vascularity. Using our program significantly improved visualization of blood vessels in cerebral tumors. The Vessel View application assists radiologists in demonstrating the vessels and facilitates distinguishing them from adjacent tissues in the image.

RESUMEN

Duplication of the left vertebral artery was observed in a 43-year-old Caucasian male with dissection of the right internal carotid artery during multidetector 64-row computer tomography and Doppler ultrasonography B-flow mode. Both duplicated segments arose from the left subclavian artery and united at levels C5-C6 to form a single vessel. The presented case describes precisely the origin and diameter of both vertebral arteries. Additionally, after all procedures associated with diagnosis and treatment of the patient, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV was diagnosed. The lumen of the duplicated vertebral artery was smaller than normal; it can be concluded that this variant has clinical implications and should be taken into consideration when vertebral arteries need catheterization.

Asunto(s)

Disección de la Arteria Carótida Interna/patología , Síndrome de Ehlers-Danlos/patología , Arteria Vertebral/anomalías , Adulto , Síndrome de Ehlers-Danlos/diagnóstico , Humanos , Masculino , Tomografía Computarizada Multidetector , Ultrasonografía Doppler

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Lack of standardised orbital MR protocols leads to a situation, when each institution/centre may arbitrarily choose sequence parameters. Therefore, the results obtained and published by the authors may not be compared freely, and what is most important may not be considered fully reliable. Signal intensity (IS) and T2 time (T2) are important parameters in estimation of inflammatory processes of extraocular muscles in the clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine the reference values (i.e. cut-off values) for absolute signal intensity and T2 relaxation time in healthy subjects, their relativised values to white matter (WM) and temporal muscles (TM) and to evaluate the correlation between those parameters. MATERIAL/METHODS: The orbital examination was performed in healthy volunteers according to the protocol prepared in the Radiology-Imaging Diagnostic Department of the Medical University of Lodz for patients with suspected/diagnosed thyroid orbitopathy. Using two of the standard sequences IS and T2 time were calculated for the muscles and two relativisation tissues in realtion to WM and TM. Subsequently cut-off values for healthy volunteers were calculated. RESULTS: The differences between muscles for IS, IS MAX, IS/TM, IS/WM, IS MAX/TM, IS MAX/WM and T2 MAX/WM were not statistically significant. Therefore one cut-off value of these parameters for all the rectus muscles was calculated. T2-relaxation time and T2 relativised to white matter had to be calculated separately for each muscle. CONCLUSIONS: No statistical correlation was found between IS and T2-time for extraocular muscles in healthy volunteers. We calculated the reference ranges (cut-off values) for absolute IS and T2-time values and relativised parameters. In the clinical practice the objectification of IS and T2-time values should be done to WM, than to IS or T2 of the temporal muscle. The T2 MAX/WM seems to have the highest clinical utility for the assessment of the pathophysiological status of extraocular muscles.