Susceptibility Etching on MRI in Patients with Microangiopathy.

BACKGROUND: We detected a novel imaging sign, which consists of a specific imaging pattern of diffuse susceptibility effect, delineating the cortical-subcortical junction on high-resolution susceptibility-weighted images (SWIs). We describe magnetic resonance imaging findings in 10 patients with "susceptibility etching" and possible association with their abnormal coagulation profile. MATERIALS/METHODS: A retrospective case series study with a search for cases that demonstrated susceptibility effect at the cortical-subcortical junction on SWI sequences was performed. The patients' respective coagulation profiles including prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, D-dimer values, and platelet counts were reviewed. In addition, clinical history and neurological deficits were recorded. RESULTS: We identified 10 patients with the "susceptibility etching" pattern at the cortical-subcortical junction. All patients were acutely ill and had a significantly elevated D-dimer (4,309 mcg/L to >10,000 mcg/L) with variably reduced platelet count. Two patients had reduced fibrinogen and 5 patients had prolonged international normalized ratio. Of the 10 patients, 4 died during hospitalization, within a few days of imaging. Pathology of 1 patient at autopsy demonstrated findings suggestive of a microvascular thrombotic or embolic event without overt parenchymal microhemorrhage. CONCLUSION: In this preliminary case series, we describe patients with "susceptibility etching" on SWI who were also found to have profound coagulation impairment. While other comorbities may also contribute to this novel sign, we suggest that a possible etiology may be secondary to microvascular in situ formation of fine thrombi and/or emboli lodged into an area of vascular caliber reduction and maybe related to thrombotic microangiopathy.

Image-guided Percutaneous Drainage in the Pediatric Population: A Primer for Radiologists.

Image-guided percutaneous drainage is an excellent minimally invasive method for dealing with infectious complications in the pediatric population. A thorough understanding of drainage procedures in children can often lead to improved patient outcomes. Indications for percutaneous drainage will be reviewed, including abscesses related to appendicitis, post-surgical abscess formation, and abscesses related to Crohn's disease. This pictorial essay will help the radiologist better understand the common etiologies of abscesses in children that may require percutaneous drainage, the special considerations for catheter placement, patient preparation, and anesthesia or sedation issues unique to the pediatric population.

Use of spoken and written Japanese did not protect Japanese-American men from cognitive decline in late life.

OBJECTIVES: Spoken bilingualism may be associated with cognitive reserve. Mastering a complicated written language may be associated with additional reserve. We sought to determine if midlife use of spoken and written Japanese was associated with lower rates of late life cognitive decline. METHODS: Participants were second-generation Japanese-American men from the Hawaiian island of Oahu, born 1900-1919, free of dementia in 1991, and categorized based on midlife self-reported use of spoken and written Japanese (total n included in primary analysis = 2,520). Cognitive functioning was measured with the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument scored using item response theory. We used mixed effects models, controlling for age, income, education, smoking status, apolipoprotein E e4 alleles, and number of study visits. RESULTS: Rates of cognitive decline were not related to use of spoken or written Japanese. This finding was consistent across numerous sensitivity analyses. DISCUSSION: We did not find evidence to support the hypothesis that multilingualism is associated with cognitive reserve.

Midlife use of written Japanese and protection from late life dementia.

BACKGROUND: The cognitive reserve hypothesis would predict that use of written Japanese should confer protection against dementia because of the complexity of its ideograms compared with written English. We sought to test this hypothesis in analyses from a longitudinal study of Japanese-American men. METHODS: Participants were second-generation Japanese-American men (Nisei) on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, who were seen in 1965 and in subsequent examinations to detect dementia beginning in 1991-1993. Use of spoken and written Japanese was self-reported in 1965 (Analyses 1 and 2), and midlife use of written Japanese and written English was self-reported in 1994-1996 (Analysis 3). We analyzed prevalent dementia outcomes in 1991-1993 (Analysis 1, n = 3139) using logistic regression, and incident dementia outcomes in 1994-2002 (Analysis 2, n = 2299) and in 1997-2002 (Analysis 3, n = 1655) using Cox proportional hazards regression. Dementia outcomes included all-cause dementia, probable and possible Alzheimer disease, and probable vascular dementia. We adjusted models for probable and possible confounders. RESULTS: Participants who reported proficiency with written Japanese were older and had lower incomes. For Analysis 1, there were 154 prevalent cases of dementia, 74 of Alzheimer disease, and 43 of vascular dementia; for Analysis 2, 236 incident cases of dementia, 138 of Alzheimer disease, and 45 of vascular dementia; and for Analysis 3, 125 incident cases of dementia, 80 of Alzheimer disease, and 20 of vascular dementia. There was no relationship in adjusted models between self-reported proficiency with written Japanese and any dementia outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Proficiency with written Japanese does not appear to be protective for dementia.