Brain magnetic resonance imaging: perception and expectations of neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has rapidly become an essential diagnostic tool in modern medicine. Understanding the objectives, perception and expectations of the different medical specialties towards MRI is therefore important to improve the quality of the examinations. Our aim was to better comprehend the reasons and expectations of neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists when requesting brain MRI scans for their patients, and also to perceive the degree of confidence of these specialists in the images and respective reports. Sixty-three specialists were recruited from two tertiary hospitals and answered a tailored questionnaire. Neurosurgeons were more concerned with the images themselves; neurologists lacked confidence in both MRI images and reports, and one third of the psychiatrists only read the report and were the most confident of the specialties in MRI findings. These results possibly reflect the idiosyncrasies of each of these medical specialties. This knowledge, driven by efficient communication between neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons, neurologists and psychiatrists, may contribute to improve the quality of MRI examinations and consequently patient care and management of health resources.

Functional transcranial Doppler: presymptomatic changes in Fabry disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Cerebrovascular disease may progress asymptomatically in the early stages of Fabry disease (FD). Our aim was to test whether functional transcranial Doppler (fTCD) could provide useful data in the evaluation of these presymptomatic FD patients. METHODS: A cohort of 12 adult FD patients from families with the classical phenotype of the disease was evaluated with fTCD in the posterior cerebral artery. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, resting blood velocities were significantly lower in the FD cohort (p = 0.032 for systolic, p = 0.021 for diastolic). FTCD suggested a disturbed neurovascular coupling in the visual cortex of FD patients, with lower gain (p = 0.007) and rate time (p = 0.019). Men had a significantly higher attenuation (p = 0.013) and lower natural frequency (p = 0.046) than the heterozygous women. CONCLUSION: These data are the first to suggest that patients with FD may develop cortical vascular dysfunction in the territory of the posterior circulation, early in the natural history of the disease. If the present findings are confirmed in larger, prospective studies, fTCD will be useful for assessing stroke risk in as yet asymptomatic FD patients, improving preventive therapeutic management.

Burkitt leukemia with numb chin syndrome and cavernous sinus involvement.

Cavernous sinus syndrome is a rare event. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas, are one possible cause. Neurological presentation of these lymphomas is also exceptional. We report the case of an 11-year-old boy that developed a right third cranial nerve palsy and numbness in the distribution of the right mental nerve, with normal CSF, and enlargement of cavernous sinus on the same side, who was diagnosed Burkitt leukemia.

[Orbital vascular pathology: clinical and imagiological differential diagnosis]. / Patologia vascular da órbita: diagnóstico diferencial clínico e imagiológico.

Orbital vascular lesions represent an important group of orbital pathology, because of their high prevalence, particularly in the pediatric population. They are also the most controversial group of lesions, due to the polemics in regard to their nature. Based on cases of their experience, the authors analyze the orbital vascular pathology, especially its clinical and imagiological characteristics, important to the diagnosis.

[Neuroendoscopy in the treatment of obstructive hydrocephaly]. / Neuroendoscopia no tratamento da hidrocefalia obstrutiva.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy in the first sixteen patients operated by endoscopic third ventriculostomy for triventricular obstructive hydrocephalus in the Hospital of S. João-Porto. METHODS: Operated from December 1998 to December 1999, there were one adult, one teenager and 14 children, with a average age of 18 months in the paediatric group. The three major causes for the changed CSF dynamics in this 16 patients were: three had aqueductal congenital stenosis; nine had aqueductal acquired obstruction (three with post-infectious occlusion, three with tumours, two with intraventricular cysts and one with a pineal arteriovenous malformation), and four with obstruction of the basal arachnoidal cisterns associated with myelomeningocele. RESULTS: The endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) was concluded in 15 of the selected cases (it was not possible in a new-born with hydrocephalus after bacterial meningitis), and it was repeated in two patients. The success rate (clinical efficacy of the procedure) was 9/15 (60%), and the mean follow-up was 9.1 months (range from three to 15 months). CONCLUSION: ETV is a efficient method in the treatment of non-communicant hydrocephalus. The safety and low-time consuming of this technique, avoiding the shunt disease, makes it desirable specially in paediatrics patients, or even in the case of different cases of hydrocephalus were some obstructive factor could be identified. So, some patients with a previous shunt or with a diagnosis of myelomeningocele, can benefit with this procedure.