PURPOSE: We evaluated 1H MR spectroscopy improves the preoperative diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative type of primary central nervous system lymphomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After review of conventional MR images and medical records, we retrospectively reviewed proton MR spectra in seven patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma diagnosed by means of biopsy. Relative ratio of choline (Cho), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and lipid-lactate (Lip- Lac) to creatine (Cr) were measured for quantitative analysis. RESULTS: The average ratio of Cho/Cr was 1.80+/-0.95, NAA/Cr was 1.34+/-0.41, and Lip-Lac/Cr was 1.12+/-0.16. All cases of lymphomas showed increased Lip-Lac peak. Two case of mass forming lymphoma showed decreased NAA/Cr significantly, whereas five cases of lymphoma without mass formation showed preserved NAA/Cr. CONCLUSION: We thought the presence of Lip-Lac peak without significant reduction of NAA on the MR spectroscopy was helpful for diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative type of central nervous system lymphoma.
Biopsy ; Central Nervous System* ; Choline ; Creatine ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy* ; Medical Records ; Protons ; Retrospective Studies

The occipitofrontalis muscle is generally regarded as one muscle composed of two muscle bellies joined through the galea aponeurotica. However, two muscle bellies have different embryological origin, anatomical function and innervations. We report a case of angiosarcoma of the scalp in a 63-year-old man whose MR showed that the superficial fascia overlying the occipital belly becomes the temporoparietal fascia and ends at the superior end of the frontal belly. Beneath the superficial fascia, the occipital belly of the occipitofrontalis muscle becomes the galea aponeurotica and inserts into the underside of the frontal belly. The presented case report supported the concept of which the occipitofrontalis muscle appears to be composed of two anatomically different muscles.
Fascia* ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Muscles* ; Scalp ; Subcutaneous Tissue

Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy (AILD) is a systemic disease clinically characterized by fever, generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, polyclonal gamma-globulinemia and Cooms' positive hemolytic anemia. The lymph node in AILD reveals a polymorphic feature consisting of a proliferation of small vessels, immunoblasts and plasma cells and acidophilic interstitial material. Progression into immunoblastic sarcoma is reported as high 35% of the patient with AILD. Nathwani et al have observed not only malignant transformation of AILD in sequential tissue examination, but also the coexistence of AILD and immunoblastic lymphoma in the same lymph node or at different sites in the same patient. Multiple clusters or islands of compactly arranged large lymphoid cells constitute the initial histologic evidence of immunoblastic sarcoma. Immunoblastic sarcoma is a large cell lymphoma conceptually related to transformed T-and B-lymphocytes of the extrafollicular compartment of the immune system, which proignosis is poor. We have recently experienced a case of immuno blastic sarcoma arising in angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy in a 24-year-old woman. She had history of multiple enlarged lymph nodes in the inguinal, axilla and supraclavicular areas. Previous lymph node biopsies revealed reactive change. Six month later, right axillary lymph node biopsy reveled AILD with focal clusters of immunoblasts. Subsequent lymph node biopsy at the same site revealed diffuse immunoblasic sarcoma, B-cell type. A case presentation with histologic findings and a brief review of literature were done.
Female ; Humans ; Biopsy

A 66-year-old woman was referred for treatment of incidental detection of two intracranial aneurysms. Time-of-flight MR angiography (TOF MRA) revealed two aneurysms at the M1 segment of the right middle cerebral artery, and clinoid segment of left internal carotid artery, respectively. On digital subtraction angiography, there was a saccular aneurysm on the left internal carotid artery, but the other aneurysm was not detected on the right middle cerebral artery. Based on comprehensive review of imaging findings, organized thrombosed aneurysm was judged as the most likely diagnosis. In the presented report, magnetization transfer (MT) pulse to TOF MRA was used, to differentiate aneurysm-mimicking lesion on TOF MRA. We report that MT technique could be effective in differentiating true aneurysm, from possible T1 high signal artifact on TOF MRA.
Aged ; Aneurysm ; Angiography ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Artifacts ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Middle Cerebral Artery

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical significance of T1 high signal intensity on the globus pallidus as a predictor of severe hepatic encephalopathy in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), which is a distinct syndrome characterized by multi-organ dysfunction including cerebral failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2002 to April 2014, we retrospectively reviewed the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and clinical and magnetic resonance (MR) features of 74 consecutive patients (44 men and 30 women; mean age, 59.5 years) with liver cirrhosis. The chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment score was used to diagnose ACLF. The pallidal index (PI), calculated by dividing the mean signal intensity of the globus pallidus by that of the subcortical frontal white matter were compared according to ACLF. The PI was compared with the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score in predicting the development of ACLF. RESULTS: Fifteen patients who were diagnosed with ACLF had higher hepatic encephalopathy grades (initial, P = 0.024; follow-up, P = 0.002), MELD scores (P < 0.001), and PI (P = 0.048). In the ACLF group, the mean PI in patients with cerebral failure was significantly higher than that in the patients without cerebral failure (1.33 vs. 1.20, P = 0.039). In patients with ACLF, the area under the curve (AUC) for PI was 0.680 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.52–0.85), which was significantly lower than that for the MELD score (AUC, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77–0.99) (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The PI can be an ancillary biomarker for predicting the development of ACLF and severe hepatic encephalopathy.
Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Globus Pallidus ; Hepatic Encephalopathy* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases* ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; White Matter

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical significance of T1 high signal intensity on the globus pallidus as a predictor of severe hepatic encephalopathy in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), which is a distinct syndrome characterized by multi-organ dysfunction including cerebral failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2002 to April 2014, we retrospectively reviewed the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and clinical and magnetic resonance (MR) features of 74 consecutive patients (44 men and 30 women; mean age, 59.5 years) with liver cirrhosis. The chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment score was used to diagnose ACLF. The pallidal index (PI), calculated by dividing the mean signal intensity of the globus pallidus by that of the subcortical frontal white matter were compared according to ACLF. The PI was compared with the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score in predicting the development of ACLF. RESULTS: Fifteen patients who were diagnosed with ACLF had higher hepatic encephalopathy grades (initial, P = 0.024; follow-up, P = 0.002), MELD scores (P < 0.001), and PI (P = 0.048). In the ACLF group, the mean PI in patients with cerebral failure was significantly higher than that in the patients without cerebral failure (1.33 vs. 1.20, P = 0.039). In patients with ACLF, the area under the curve (AUC) for PI was 0.680 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.52–0.85), which was significantly lower than that for the MELD score (AUC, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77–0.99) (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The PI can be an ancillary biomarker for predicting the development of ACLF and severe hepatic encephalopathy.
Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Globus Pallidus ; Hepatic Encephalopathy* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases* ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; White Matter

PURPOSE: We investigated acute stroke patterns on diffusion weighted images and with doppler ultrasonography studies of ICA and MCA steno-occlusive diseases in order to predict the cerbrovascular reserve (CVR), as was measured by acetazolamide (ACZ)-challenged Tc-99m ECD brain perfusion SPECT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 76 patients who underwent MRI/MRA, ACZ-challenged Tc-99m ECD brain perfusion SPECT, and carotid and vertebral artery Doppler sonography. After dividing these patients into four groups- MCA and ICA steno-occlusions, we analyzed the relationship between the CVR and topologic MR patterns and the flow volume, as was measured by Doppler sonography. RESULTS: The CVRs were preserved in 26 of 76 patients. The CVRs were impaired in those cases of occlusion that were detected on MRA and also by the pattern of the territorial involvement on the diffusion weighted image (p < 0.05, x2 test). Yet in cases of preserved CVRs, the flow volume of the contralateral ICA, the anterior circulation, and the total cerebral flow volume were increased, as was checked by Doppler sonography (p < 0.05, t-test). As calculated by logistic regression analysis, the accuracy for predicting the preserved CVR by using the statistically significant variables was 78%. CONCLUSION: We believe that the MRI-SPECT correlation study was helpful for understanding the hemodynamics and topographic patterns of ischemia in patients with ICA and MCA steno-occlusive disease, and that the flow volume measurement, which was done by using duplex US, was useful for predicting the CVR.
Acetazolamide ; Brain ; Cerebral Infarction ; Diffusion ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Perfusion ; Retrospective Studies ; Statistics as Topic ; Stroke ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon ; Ultrasonography, Doppler* ; Vertebral Artery

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to determine possibility of application of in vivo proton (1H) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in distinguishing cystic mass arising around pancreas by comparison of in vivo MRS, in vitro MRS using 3T MR machine, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We obtained spectra of in vivo MRS, in vitro MRS and NMR from abdominal mass arising around pancreas (mucinous cystic neoplasm=5, intraductal papillary mucin producing tumor=5, pseudocyst=1, and lymphangioma=1). We estimated existence of peak of in vivo MRS, and in vitro MRS concordant to that of NMR. We also evaluated differential peak for predicting specific disease. RESULTS: Correlation of presence of peak with NMR showed showed sensitivity of 29.6%, specificity of 82.6% and accuracy of 67.7% on in vivo MRS (p = 0.096, McNemar test), sensitivity of 57.1% and specificity of 92.6% and accuracy of 82.3% on in vitro MRS (p = 0.362, McNemar test). The spectra of NMR for IPMT showed more frequent peaks at 3.5-4.0 ppm (p=0.026). CONCLUSION: Although chemical analysis, using NMR could be regarded as possible tool to differentiate cystic masses, in vivo and in vitro MRS need further technical evolution for clinical application.
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mucins ; Pancreas ; Protons ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrum Analysis

Although most cases of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) are reversible, irreversible lesions as a form of hemorrhage or infarction have been described. PRES as a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (PRES-SLE) is associated with hypertension or use of immunosuppressive agents. We present a case of recurrent atypical PRES-SLE, which showed restricted diffusion in the first manifestation of SLE, resulted in parenchymal hemorrhagic transformations in the recurrent episode.
Diffusion ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Infarction ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic

A 7-year-old boy, diagnosed with an arachnoid cyst and subdural effusion on initial MRI, was admitted with left limb weakness and no history of head trauma. A subsequent follow-up MRI showed different stages of hematoma within multilayered enhancing membranes and in the arachnoid cyst, which was separated by the cerebrospinal fluid cleft. Craniotomy and fenestration of the cyst wall and hematoma removal were performed. The patient was diagnosed as a having a hemorrhagic rupture of an arachnoid cyst into the intradural space, probably via some one-way valve-like defect, based on the MRI and surgical findings. The MRI features and possible mechanism of this rare disease are discussed within the literature review.
Arachnoid* ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Craniotomy ; Dura Mater ; Extremities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lymphangioma, Cystic ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Membranes ; Rare Diseases ; Rupture* ; Subdural Effusion