Pediatric head trauma: an extensive review on imaging requisites and unique imaging findings

The effects of trauma in children are different due to association with some anatomical and physiological differences compared with adults. The role of neuroimaging gains importance in early detection of traumatic brain injuries and prevention of secondary post-traumatic complications. Many algorithms are described for children with head trauma to decide the necessity of a computed tomography scan. The aims of this article are to describe differences of these algorithms, the mechanism of traumatic brain injury with radiological imaging findings in the pediatric population, and explain complications of undiagnosed traumatic brain lesions

MRI-based texture analysis to differentiate the most common parotid tumours

AIM: To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features and signal characteristics of parotid masses and investigate the added role of texture analysis (TA) in the differentiation of parotid tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-five patients (42 women, 53 men; mean age 51.67 +/- 14.15) were included in this study. The study group consisted of 40 pleomorphic adenoma, 45 Warthin's tumour, and 10 mucoepidermoid carcinomas. Two reviewers assessed the MRI sequences retrospectively. Fat-suppressed T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1weighted axial images were used for TA. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to evaluate the ability to make a diagnosis. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the independent risk factors among the MRI features and to analyse the added value of TA to the qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the tumour border (p<0.001), infiltration of the surrounding tissue (p=0.0 03), contrast-enhancement grading (p<0.001), perineural spread (p=0.013), and pathological lymph nodes (p<0.001) between the malignant and benign tumours. Kurtosis on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images, and skewness and kurtosis on T2weighted images were significantly different between the three groups (p=0.020, <0.001, 0.003; respectively). A kurtosis value on T2-weighted images <2.815 along with an ill-defined border had the highest specificity (98.8%) and positive predictive value (83.3%) in the differentiation of malignant tumours. CONCLUSION: The addition of TA parameters to the MRI findings may contribute to distinguish benign from malignant parotid tumours. (c) 2020 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Is elevated urotensin II level a predictor for increased cardiovascular risk in subjects with acromegaly?

WOS: 000459067500012PubMed ID: 29804270PurposeAcromegaly is a rare disorder existed in the result of overproduction of growth hormone (GH). The disorder is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic abnormalities. Urotensin II (UII), a secreted vasoactive peptide hormone, belonging somatostatin superfamily, plays an essential role in atherosclerosis and glucose metabolism. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether circulating UII levels are altered in subjects with acromegaly, and to describe the relationship between UII and hormonal or cardiometabolic parameters. MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 41 subjects with active acromegaly, 28 subjects with controlled acromegaly, and 37 age- and BMI-matched controls without acromegaly. Hormonal and metabolic features of the subjects as well as carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and epicardial fat thickness (EFT) were defined. Circulation of UII levels was determined via ELISA.ResultsBoth active and controlled acromegalic subjects showed a significant elevation of circulating levels of UII with respect to controls. There was no remarkable difference in circulating levels of UII between active and controlled acromegalic groups. Both cIMT and EFT were remarkably increased in acromegaly subjects comparing to controls. UII positively correlated with cIMT, EFT, BMI, and HOMA-IR. There was no correlation between UII and GH, insulin-like growth factor-1. According to the results obtained from regression models, UII levels independently predicted cIMT and EFT.ConclusionElevated UII levels are associated with severity of cardiovascular risk factors including cIMT and EFT in acromegalic subjects