Midsagittal MR measurements of the corpus callosum in healthy subjects and diseased patients: a prospective survey.

PURPOSE: To determine quantitatively a possible corpus callosum (CC) involvement in normal aging and white matter diseases. METHODS: Midsagittal size and signal of CC were recorded prospectively from 243 routine MR brain examinations. A midline internal skull surface (MISS) and subcutaneous fat signal intensity were measured to calculate CC/MISS and CC/fat ratios. Four groups of subjects were studied: 124 apparently healthy subjects, 45 patients with multiple sclerosis, 13 patients with a noncerebral cancer under chemotherapy, and 37 AIDS patients. RESULTS: Mean surface area of CC in controls was 6.36 cm2. It was significantly larger in men than in women (P < .05), but CC/MISS ratio was not. Elderly controls > 70 years and AIDS patients displayed significant CC atrophy, as well as multiple sclerosis subjects with long-standing disease or with a severe chronic progressive form. CONCLUSION: CC substance loss identification should not be based on visual inspection or on absolute area, but by means of a CC/MISS ratio.

[The STIR sequence. Comparison with other MRI sequences and scintigraphy in detecting spinal metastases]. / La séquence STIR. Comparison avec les autres séquences IRM et la scintigraphie dans le dépistage des métastases osseuses vertébrales.

A prospective MRI study of the spine comparing short inversion-recovery sequences (STIR)-one the features of which is to potentiate the contrast of both long T1 and T2 sequences-with other spin echo and/or gradient echo MRI sequences, was conducted in 20 patients with suspected vertebral metastases. The features of the signal on STIR sequences were initially defined in 14 healthy volunteers. In the patients, the various MRI sequences were also compared to each other and to standard x-rays and bone scans. The sensitivity of detection of vertebral metastases did not appear to be significantly different between T1 sequences and the STIR sequence. However, these two sequences appeared to be significantly more sensitive than T2-weighted sequences. The STIR sequences therefore appears to be a logical complement to T1-weighted sequences in the detection of vertebral secondaries. This sequence even appears to be superior in the following situations: investigation of the cervical vertebrae, follow-up of irradiated bone, early detection of periduritis and lesions of the posterior arch.

[Teratoma strictly of the buttocks in a 13-year-old girl]. / Tératome purement fessier chez une fille de 13 ans.

A 13-year old girl was admitted to our hospital because of an ulcerated gluteal tumor. This tumor was present since birth. A diagnostic procedure was performed. This tumor was strictly limited to the gluteal region, without pelvic extension, but with sacral malformation. Total surgical excision was completed. Pathology report revealed a histologically benign teratoma. The origin of the tumor is discussed.

[Acute osteomyelitis in a child with homozygous sickle cell anemia. Difficulty in early diagnosis]. / Ostéomyélite aiguë chez l'enfant drépanocytaire homozygote. Difficulté du diagnostic précoce.

Febrile painful edema of a limb segment in Black children should suggest a bone complication (infarct or osteomyelitis) of a homozygous sickle cell anemia. The possibility of an early diagnosis can be improved by scintigraphy since the appearance of radiologic signs is delayed in relation to functional symptomatology onset. The risk of an infectious graft, particularly from Salmonella in children under 2 years, on a bone infarct makes it essential to combine routine antibiotic therapy with the orthopedic treatment, to provide resolution of the very often quite impressive lesions.

[Contribution of radiography and gammagraphy to the monitoring of the development of psychoses]. / Apports de la radiographie et de la gammagraphie dans la surveillance de l'évolution des psychoses.

The authors emphasize the frequency of intracranial tumors in psychiatric patients. They make a distinction between the rare cases of psychiatric patients with intracranial tumors and the even most-frequent cases of tumors that express themselves through psychiatric disorders. According to the authors, the most important detection-tests are the brain scan and, more recently, the EMI scan or tomodensitometer.