Magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cerebral small vessel disease intensification in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of the neuroradiological indices of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and methods: 34 patients (age 60-90 years, 17 women and 17 men) with severe AS and 50 healthy controls (age 61-85 years, 29 women and 21 men) underwent MRI brain examinations, which were analysed for the neuroradiological indices of CSVD: hyperintensities in periventricular white matter (PVWM) and deep white matter (DWM), enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS), lacunar strokes, and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). Results: PVWM hyperintensities were found in 46% of volunteers and was significantly lower (p = 0.027), corresponding to AS patients (80%), the density of lesions was higher in the AS group than in controls (p = 0.019). DWM hyperintensities were found more often in AS patients (76%) than in controls (66%) (p = 0.303), but the densities were similar in both groups. Lacunar strokes were found in 35% of AS patients and 16% of controls (p = 0.042). The average number of lacunar strokes per person was 0.9 in the AS group and 0.3 in the controls (p = 0.035). The AS group showed higher variance in the number of strokes: SD = 1.96 vs. SD = 1.06 in controls. Both prevalence and density of the ePVS and CMBs did not differ significantly between the groups. Conclusions: Neuroradiological indices of the vascular disease do not provide an unequivocal clue to the pathogenesis of CSVD in patients with severe AS. Most observations imply that CSVD is primarily a consequence of cerebral hypoperfusion caused by AS

The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques in the evaluation of patients with disorders of consciousness : a case report

Purpose: The management of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) constitutes a challenge for clinicians. Case report: We present the case of a 66-year-old man who developed coma with subsequent DOC after a severe traumatic brain injury. Behavioural assessment constitutes the gold standard in the evaluation of patients with DOC. In the case presented herein the neuropsychological findings were ambiguous, and the patient underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine whether he was in a vegetative state or minimally conscious state. Three paradigms: passive, active, and resting state fMRI were used to study the brain activity in our patient. Conclusions: fMRI provided reliable evidence of preserved minimal consciousness. The neuroimaging techniques used in our patient were vital for his further treatment

Sprawozdanie z 41. Konferencji Europejskiego Towarzystwa Dermatologii Doświadczalnej (ESDR)

W dniach 7–10 września 2011 roku odbyło się41. co roczne spotkanie ESDR (European Society for DermatologicalResearch). Po raz pierwszy na miejscezjazdu wybrano Międzynarodowe Centrum Konferencyjne(ICC) zlokalizowane w samym sercu biznesowejczęści Barcelony. Warto podkreślić, że w tymroku na zjazd zarejestrowała się rekordowa liczbaosób, a w czasie jego trwania zaprezentowano ponad650 prac naukowych z całego świata. Konferencjatrwała 4 dni, podczas których odbyły się sesje plenarne,tematyczne, kliniczne, specjalne wykłady nazaproszenie oraz sesje sponsorowane. Konferencjęotworzyło sympozjum dotyczące terapii genowejchorób skóry, na którym eksperci z różnych dziedzinmogli podzielić się najnowszymi doniesieniamize swoich badań. Równolegle odbywały się sesjesatelitarne: European Epidermal Barrier ResearchNetwork (E2BRN), European Society for Pigment CellResearch (ESPCR) oraz European Academy of Dermo-Oncology (EADO)