Degenerative and inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders: updates and hot topics in diagnostic and interventional imaging.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review is to present the latest innovations and current topics in musculoskeletal diagnosis and interventional imaging, with a focus on degenerative and inflammatory diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, the search was conducted through the online databases PubMed and Google Scholar, including articles published in English in the past 15 years, in order to find existing studies, clinical cases, and reviews on the latest innovations and current topics in degenerative and inflammatory musculoskeletal pathologies. RESULTS: Imaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and treatment of MSK degenerative and inflammatory disease. In the last few years continuous innovations and technological advances have allowed new clinical applications in the management of MSK disorder. Advanced magnetic resonance techniques, the introduction of fusion imaging techniques and new approaches to infiltrative medicine are revolutionizing the clinical and therapeutic approach to degenerative and inflammatory pathologies. Artificial intelligence also increasingly seeks to be applied in all fields of medicine and radiology with increasingly promising results. CONCLUSIONS: Imaging modalities undergo continuous innovations and revolutions due to technological advances, with direct repercussions on clinical applications and new therapeutic potential through interventional radiology techniques. In recent years, there have been particular innovations in the context of musculoskeletal imaging of degenerative and inflammatory diseases, both for diagnosis and intervention.

Metastatic endo and perineural involvement of the ulnar nerve from malignant melanoma: ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.

Malignant melanoma metastases occur in about 15% of patients. The most common localizations are lymph nodes, lungs, pancreas, bones. The central nervous system and the perineural region are rarely affected. In case of distant metastases, the survival rate is lower (about 25%). Involvement of peripheral nerve metastases from melanoma is reported in the literature just in one case. We report the ultrasound (US) integrated with Color-Doppler Ultrasound (CDU), elastosonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of a rare case of metastatic endo- and perineural involvement of the ulnar nerve from cutaneous melanoma. Our purpose is to increase the clinicians' and radiologists' awareness on the possibility of metastatic spread to the peripheral nervous system and improve the differential diagnosis with other peripheral nerve sheath tumors.