Muscle denervation results from a variety of causes including trauma, neoplasia, neuropathies, infections, autoimmune processes and vasculitis. Traditionally, the diagnosis of muscle denervation was based on clinical examination and electromyography. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a distinct advantage over electromyography, not only in diagnosing muscle denervation, but also in determining its aetiology. MRI demonstrates characteristic signal intensity patterns depending on the stage of muscle denervation. The acute and subacutely denervated muscle shows a high signal intensity pattern on fluid sensitive sequences and normal signal intensity on T1-weighted MRI images. In chronic denervation, muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration demonstrate high signal changes on T1-weighted sequences in association with volume loss. The purpose of this review is to summarise the MRI appearance of denervated muscle, with special emphasis on the signal intensity patterns in acute and subacute muscle denervation.
Niemann-Pick disease should be considered for any patient with unexplained diffuse endogenous lipid pneumonia, even when disease is limited to the lungs and presentation is during adulthood.
A retrospective review of 2,320 neonatal cranial sonograms obtained in 1,324 patients identified 25 patients with areas of echogenicity in their thalami and basal ganglia that were of a linear or branching linear distribution. Four of these patients had cytomegalovirus infection. Other major diagnoses encountered included Down syndrome, trisomy 13 syndrome, neonatal asphyxia, non-immune hydrops, and fetal alcohol syndrome. Results of the study suggest a broader etiologic basis for linear areas of echogenicity in the basal ganglia and thalami of children than has previously been reported. These patients warrant complete screening for possible in utero infection and perhaps also chromosomal analysis.
The Morel-Lavallee lesion is a serous collection in the region of the greater trochanter, resulting from a closed degloving injury at the deep fascial interface. Imaging demonstrates characteristic appearance in relation to this lesion, differentiating it from other mass lesions. We report a case of Morel-Lavallee lesion in an adolescent, with ultrasound and MRI correlation.
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