- Cauda Equina and Filum Terminale Arteriovenous Fistulas: Anatomic and Radiographic Features
Intradural AVF below the conus medullaris may develop either on the filum terminale or the cauda equina (lumbosacral and coccygeal radicular nerves). Only 3 detailed cauda equina AVFs have been reported in the literature. The authors present the angiographic and MR imaging findings of cauda equina and filum terminale AVF cases, supplemented with literature research to characterize the radiologic features of the 2 entities. On angiography, filum terminale AVFs were invariably supplied by the extension of the anterior spinal artery accompanied by a closely paralleling filum terminale vein. Cauda equina AVFs were fed by either a radicular or a spinal artery or both arteries, often with a characteristic wavy radicular-perimedullary draining vein.
- Centrally Reduced Diffusion Sign for Differentiation between Treatment-Related Lesions and Glioma Progression: A Validation Study
Images of 231 patients who underwent an operation for suspected glioma recurrence were reviewed. Patients with susceptibility artifacts or without central necrosis were excluded. The final diagnosis was established according to histopathology reports. Two neuroradiologists classified the diffusion patterns on preoperative MR imaging as the following: 1) reduced diffusion in the solid component only, 2) reduced diffusion mainly in the solid component, 3) no reduced diffusion, 4) reduced diffusion mainly in the central necrosis, and 5) reduced diffusion in the central necrosis only. A total of 103 patients were included (22 with treatment-related lesions and 81 with tumor progression). The diagnostic accuracy results for the centrally reduced diffusion pattern as a predictor of treatment-related lesions (“mainly central” and “exclusively central” patterns versus all other patterns) were: 64% sensitivity, 84% specificity, 52% positive predictive value, and 89% negative predictive value.
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