- Manganese-Enhanced MRI in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Mangafodipir is a manganese chelate that was clinically approved for MR imaging of liver lesions. The authors present a case series of 6 adults with multiple sclerosis who were scanned at baseline with gadolinium, then injected with mangafodipir, and followed at variable time points. Fourteen new lesions formed during or shortly before the study, of which 10 demonstrated manganese enhancement of varying intensity, timing, and spatial pattern. One gadolinium-enhancing extra-axial mass, presumably a meningioma, also demonstrated enhancement with manganese. Manganese enhancement was detected in lesions that formed in the days after mangafodipir injection, and this enhancement persisted for several weeks. They conclude that multiple sclerosis lesions were enhanced with a temporal and spatial profile distinct from that of gadolinium.
- Predictors of Favorable Outcome after Endovascular Thrombectomy in MRI: Selected Patients with Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion
The authors analyzed consecutive MR imaging–selected patients with acute basilar artery occlusions endovascularly treated within the first 24 hours after symptom onset. Successful and complete reperfusion was defined as modified TICI scores 2b–3 and 3, respectively. Outcome at 90 days was analyzed. One hundred ten patients were included. In 10 patients, endovascular treatment was aborted for failed proximal/distal access. Overall, successful reperfusion was achieved in 81.8% of cases. At 90 days, favorable outcome was 31.8%, with a mortality rate of 40.9%; the prevalence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 24 hours was 2.7%. The median time from symptom onset to groin puncture was 410 minutes. In this series of MR imaging–selected patients with acute basilar artery occlusions, complete reperfusion was the strongest predictor of a good outcome. Lower pretreatment NIHSS, the presence of posterior communicating artery collateral flow, the absence of atrial fibrillation, and intravenous thrombolysis administration were associated with favorable outcome.