Phenotypic and genetic characterization of a family carrying two Xq21.1-21.3 interstitial deletions associated with syndromic hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing impairment is a common pathological manifestation in patients affected by X-linked intellectual disability. A few cases of interstitial deletions at Xq21 with several different phenotypic characteristics have been described, but to date, a complete molecular characterization of the deletions harboring disease-causing genes is still missing. Thus, the aim of this study is to realize a detailed clinical and molecular analysis of a family affected by syndromic X-linked hearing loss with intellectual disability

Brainstem arteriovenous malformation presenting with dyspraxic handwriting in a young girl

We report the case of a 11-year-old girl who developed an isolated hand-writing disorder with dysgraphia at the beginning of the school year in the sixth grade. A brain magnetic resonance angiography showed a round arteriovenous malformation sited in the left side of the midbrain extending to the ipsilateral medio-basal thalamus. Child neurologists should never neglect a thorough neurological evaluation in case of isolated worsening of handwriting, to rule out possible underlying organic causes

Atypical presentation of ewing’s sarcoma with a single left orbital metastasis

BACKGROUND: We present an uncommon case of Ewing' sarcoma in a 16-year-old boy. CASE REPORT: This case can be considered unique because of the atypical presentation, normal laboratory tests and absence of the typical symptoms such as pain, masses or swelling, fatigue or weight loss, breathing problems linked to lung metastases or pathologic fractures. The only event that brought the patient to our attention was the sudden onset of left proptosis. CONCLUSIONS: The final histopathology together with CT and PET-CT findings led to the diagnosis of a multi-metastatic Ewing's sarcoma involving the orbit, skeleton, bone marrow and lymph nodes

Adams Oliver syndrome : description of a new phenotype with cerebellar abnormalities in a family

Background: To describe cerebellar abnormalities in a family composed by a father and two affected sibs with Adams Oliver syndrome (AOS) (OMIM 100300). Material/Methods: Brain MRI and MR angiography were performed at 1.5T. Results: The siblings presented cerebellar cortex dysplasia characterized by the presence of cysts. Conclusions: Abnormalities of CNS are an unusual manifestation of AOS. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cerebellar cortical dysplasia in a family with AOS

Is advanced neuroimaging for neuroradiologists? A systematic review of the scientific literature of the last decade

Introduction To evaluate if advanced neuroimaging research is mainly conducted by imaging specialists, we investigated the number of first authorships by radiologists and nonradiologist scientists in articles published in the field of advanced neuroimaging in the past 10 years. Methods Articles in the field of advanced neuroimaging identified in this retrospective bibliometric analysis were divided in four groups, depending on the imaging technique used. For all included studies, educational background of the first authors was recorded (based on available online curriculum vitae) and classified in subgroups, depending on their specialty. Finally, journal impact factors were recorded and comparatively assessed among subgroups as a metric of research quality. Results A total number of 3831 articles were included in the study. Radiologists accounted as first authors for only 12.8 % of these publications, while 56.9 % of first authors were researchers without a medical degree. Mean impact factor (IF) of journals with non-MD researchers as first authors was significantly higher than the MD subgroup (p < 10−20), while mean IF of journals with radiologists as first authors was significantly lower than articles authored by other MD specialists (p < 10−11). Conclusions The majority of the studies in the field of advanced neuroimaging in the last decade is conducted by professional figures other than radiologists, who account for lessthan the 13 % of the publications. Furthermore, the mean IF value of radiologists-authored articles was the lowest among all subgroups. These results, taken together, should question the radiology community about its future role in the development of advanced neuroimaging