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The authors compared the degree of perilymphatic enhancement and the detection rate of endolymphatic hydrops using constant and variable flip angle sequences in 16 patients with 3T MR imaging. Both for symptomatic and asymptomatic ears, the median signal intensity ratio was significantly higher with the constant flip angle than with the heavily-T2 variable flip angle. Cochlear blood-labyrinth barrier impairment was observed in 4/18 symptomatic ears with the heavily-T2 variable flip angle versus 8/19 with constant flip angle sequences. They conclude that 3D-FLAIR constant flip angle sequences provide a higher signal intensity ratio and are superior to heavily-T2 variable flip angle sequences in reliably evaluating the cochlear blood-labyrinth barrier impairment.

The authors retrospectively reviewed a nationwide surveillance to identify risk factors contributing to complications and short-term clinical outcomes in the endovascular treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations. A total of 1042 endovascular procedures (788 patients) performed in 111 institutions from 2010 to 2014 were reviewed. Univariate analysis identified deep venous drainage, associated aneurysms, infratentorial location, and pre-radiosurgical embolization as statistically significant risk factors for complications. Multivariate analysis showed that embolization of brain arteriovenous malformations in the infratentorial location was significantly associated with complications.