Brain morphometry

Insights Imaging. 2013 Mar 1; Zugazaga Cortazar A, Martín Martinez C, Duran Feliubadalo C, Bella Cueto MR, Serra L OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects (NTDs). BACKGROUND: NTDs comprise a heterogeneous group of congenital anomalies that derive from the failure of the neural tube to close. Advances in ultrasonography and MRI have considerably improved the diagnosis and treatment of NTDs both before and after birth. Ultrasonography is the first technique in the morphological study of the fetus, and it often makes it possible to detect or suspect NTDs. Fetal MRI is a complementary technique that makes it possible to clear up uncertain ultrasonographic findings and to detect associated anomalies that might go undetected at ultrasonography. The progressive incorporation of intrauterine treatments makes an accurate diagnosis of NTDs essential to ensure optimal perinatal management. The ability of fetal MRI to...

J Neurosurg Spine. 2013 Jan; 18(1): 76-84 Nakanishi K, Tanaka N, Kamei N, Nakamae T, Izumi B, Ohta R, Fujioka Y, Ochi M The pathophysiology of occult tethered cord syndrome (OTCS) with no anatomical evidence of a caudally shifted conus and a normal terminal filum is hard to understand. Therefore, the diagnosis of OTCS is often difficult. The authors hypothesized that the posterior displacement of the terminal filum may become prominent in patients with OCTS who are in a prone position if filum inelasticity exists, and they investigated prone-position MRI findings.Fourteen patients with OTCS and 12 control individuals were examined using T2-weighted axial MRI with the patients in a prone position on a flat table. On each axial view, the distance between the posterior and anterior ends of the subarachnoid space (A), the distance between the posterior end of the subarachnoid space and the terminal filum (B), the distance between the posterior end of the subarachnoid space and the...

Singapore Med J. 2012 Sep; 53(9): 570-6 Teo AT, Gan BK, Tung JS, Low Y, Seow WT Anorectal malformations (ARMs) and low-lying spinal cord (LLC) are commonly associated owing to their common embryonic origin. LLC may lead to tethered cord syndromes (TCS), requiring surgery. This study aimed to review the incidence of LLC in children with ARMs using ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the incidence of TCS and the surgical outcomes of these patients after detethering.We conducted a retrospective study of children who underwent surgery for ARMs in 2002-2009 at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.Out of 101 (16.8%) ARM patients, 17 had LLC, of which 12 (70.6%) were high ARMs. 12 of the 17 (70.6%) patients had abnormal US and MR imaging findings. Five (29.4%) had normal US but abnormal MR imaging results; in these five patients, MR imaging was performed due to new symptoms and equivocal US findings. These 17 patients subsequently underwent surgical...