Luisa Divano

Arabin cervical pessary in women at high risk of preterm birth: a magnetic resonance imaging observational follow-up study.

To help elucidate the mechanism of action of the Arabin cervical pessary in pregnancies at high risk for preterm delivery.

Prediction of splenic volume by a simple CT measurement: a statistical study.

The width, thickness, and areas of the spleen were obtained by abdominal computed tomography on 50 patients. Several simple linear equations were used to predict the splenic volume and were correlated with a previously published method for volume estimation based on summing areas of multiple contiguous scans. This was used as a standard and demonstrated an excellent linear correlation (r = 0.95) with an estimate based on a product of length and maximal width. Correlation was even better (r = 0.991) with an estimate based on length, maximal width, and thickness.

Cavernous haemangioma in the cavernous sinus: case report and review of the literature.

Abstract We report a cavernous haemangioma in the left cavernous sinus. This lesions very rarely occurs in this site and is difficult to diagnose correctly preoperatively. CT, angiography and MRI permit differentiation of the cavernous haemangioma from other tumours in this region and thereby contribute to a better surgical approach. The radiological features of cavernous haemangioma reported in the literature are summarised.

Left-sided paraduodenal hernia: diagnosis with multislice computed tomography

Abstract Paraduodenal hernia is a rare congenital malformation. Although it may be an incidental finding at autopsy or at laparotomy, some cases are symptomatic. In such a condition, imaging is mandatory for the diagnosis. In the clinical literature, only a few cases of paraduodenal hernia diagnosed with computed tomography (CT) have been reported. We report a case of surgically proven left paraduodenal hernia diagnosed preoperatively by multislice helical CT. To our knowledge, this is the first report that illustrates the imaging characteristics of left paraduodenal hernia with multiplanar recontructions.

Transient and permanent neuroimaging abnormalities due to partial status epilepticus in a patient with corpus callosum agenesis

Dear Sirs, A 57-year-old woman presented with episodes of intermittent myoclonus of her left arm for the last 2 weeks that started once daily and became constant during the last 48 h. She was known to suffer from partial motor epileptic seizures of her left side that were occasionally followed by post-ictal left hemiparesis since the age of 5, when she was hospitalized for ‘‘persisting seizures’’. She did not present infantile spasms or permanent focal neurologic deficits but she has had moderate learning difficulties. The patient has been adequately controlled with levetiracetam (1,000 mg bid) and presented only twice a year self-limiting motor seizures, but during the last 3 weeks she has been incompliant to treatment because of untreated concurrent depression. Neurological exam disclosed severe paresis of the left arm, 3/5 on the medical research council (MRC) scale, with frequent myoclonic movements and no other focal deficit including visual field defects. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain 6 h after admission revealed corpus callosum agenesis and asymmetrical enlargement of the posterior horns of the lateral ventricles (colpocephaly) (Fig. 1a, b, f). Compared to imaging 5 years before admission (Fig. 1e) no further atrophy in the right hemisphere was noted. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps (Fig. 1c, d) disclosed increased signal intensity in the parieto-occipital cortex of the right hemisphere that did not correspond to any vascular territory, a finding that was consistent with vasogenic edema, whereas time of flight (TOF) MRA showed a patent right middle cerebral artery and no evidence of intracranial vessel pathology. Magnetic resonance venography was also normal. An ictal EEG was obtained that revealed diffuse slow waves predominantly on the right hemisphere and intermittent predominantly right frontal rhythmic delta waves. A diagnosis of partial SE presenting with epileptic myoclonus of the left arm was made and it was successfully treated (complete myoclonus cessation) with intravenous lorazepam and phenytoin, 8 h after admission. The patient partially recovered motor function of her left arm over several weeks presenting only a minor distal paresis (4/5 on MRC scale) of the left arm 3 weeks after admission. Extensive work-up did not reveal any other concomitant pathological process responsible to the seizures and the neuroimaging abnormalities. FollowA. Safouris (&) I. Popa M.-D. Gazagnes Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, Brugmann University Hospital, Place Van Gehuchten 4, 1020 Brussels, Belgium e-mail: safouris@yahoo.com