Mary H. Kathol

Radiographic Abnormalities of the Lumbar Spine in College Football Players A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to make a direct comparison between lumbar spine radiographs of incoming college football players and of an age-matched control group to determine whether there is a higher prevalence of lumbar spine abnormalities in football players before competing at the Division I level. We reviewed 187 lumbar spine radiographs. Of these, 104 were taken as a standard part of the preparticipation physical examination for incoming college football players. The remaining 83 radiographs were taken during routine preemployment physicals at a local factory. Each radiograph was read independently by three separate orthopaedic radiologists in a blinded fashion. Data were collected and statistically evaluated for 13 variables. The rate of spondylolysis was only 4.8% in our group of athletes and 6.0% in the control group (not significantly different). Only in the category of degenerative changes was a significant difference found. The control group had a 16.9% incidence of disk space narrowing and spurring and the football players had a 6.7% incidence. The remainder of the variables were not significantly different between the two groups. Our findings differ from previously published reports and indicate that football players entering college at the Division I level may have a similar prevalence of radiographic lumbar spine abnormalities, including spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, as age-matched controls.

Elastofibroma dorsi: a radiological diagnosis

Elastofibroma dorsi is a rarely made radiological diagnosis. The rarity of the condition, lack of a suitable imaging modality, and an inconsistent clinical approach in evaluating indeterminate soft tissue tumors has contributed to this failure. With magnetic resonance imaging now being recognized as the examination of choice for all indeterminate soft tissue tumors, a prebiopsy diagnosis can frequently be made by radiologists familiar with the characteristic periscapular location, predilection for elderly females, and short T2 on magnetic resonance imaging.

Unusual radiological features in Paget's disease of bone

The radiological diagnosis of Pagets disease of bone is usually straightforward because most cases conform to well-established classic descriptions. Diagnosis becomes more difficult, however, when radiological appearances are not typical or other disease processes mask or alter the behavior of Pagets disease. Examples are presented to illustrate four categories of unusual radiological presentation of Pagets disease: (1) unusual disease progression, (2) massive post-immobilization lysis, (3) metastatic spread to pagetic bone, and (4) vertebral end-plate destruction that mimics infection.

Right vs. left hemispheric blood-brain barrier permeability in schizophrenia: A dynamic computed tomographic study

Dynamic computerized tomographic brain scanning was used to make determinations of mean cerebral tissue nonenhanced density and contrast-enhanced density in 10 bilateral brain regions in 10 psychotic subjects. Asymmetry of both nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced density was observed; left regional nonenhanced values were higher than right, whereas contrast-enhanced density values were higher on the right than on the left. No significant differences were observed in arterial mean transit time (AMTT) between right and left middle cerebral artery branches or in capillary or tissue mean transit time (CMTT) in the middle temporal cortex. However, corrected CMTT (CCMTT), i.e., CMTT minus AMTT, may have been prolonged in five subjects either on the left or right, or in both homologous regions. Only 2 of 10 subjects exhibited anterior-posterior (AP) gradients that resembled to some extent the hyperfrontal pattern reported in normal subjects by other investigators with different techniques.

Magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of knee injuries

Of all the magnetic resonance examinations performed for studying musculoskeletal disease, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee is the most frequently requested examination. It has replaced knee arthrography in the vast majority of clinical situations. MRI of the knee is currently the diagnostic procedure of choice for the diagnosis of injuries to the menisci, ligaments, and tendons as well as bone bruises and occult fractures in the knee. This review article discusses the technical aspects of performing the MRI examination of the knee. It also discusses the magnetic resonance criteria for diagnosing meniscus tears, ligament and tendon disruptions, and bone bruises.