Deep medullary veins drain into subependymal veins with four convergence zones and show parallel distribution patterns adjacent to the body or inferior horn and a radial pattern in the frontal horn or trigon of the lateral ventricle. As white matter imaging develops such as diffusion tensor imaging or susceptibility-weighted imaging, requirements for understanding of white matter structures are increasing, not only for understanding of neuronal tracts but also for that of other structures including the fine anatomy of white matter vessels. Some disorders are related to deep medullary veins and show characteristic distributions of the lesions indicating the relationship to the medullary veins. When lesions show a parallel or radial distribution pattern in the certebral deep white matter, disorders related to deep medullary veins should be considered for differential diagnosis. In this review, we discuss disorders related to deep medullary veins, including (a) anomalies of the medullary veins, (b) hemorrhagic disorders related to the medullary veins (diffuse vascular injury due to high-energy trauma, deep medullary vein engorgement/thrombosis in neonates), (c) inflammatory changes that spread along the medullary veins, (d) neoplasms within the medullary veins, and (e) metabolic changes that lead to altered visualization of medullary veins. Understanding the anatomic structure of medullary veins in the cerebral hemisphere and becoming familiar with disorders in which the medullary veins play a major role in disease development may be helpful in the interpretation of brain images. RSNA, 2017.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Tract-based analysis can be used to investigate required tracts extracted from other fiber tracts. However, the fractional anisotropy (FA) threshold influences tractography analysis. The current study evaluated the influence of the FA threshold in measuring diffusion tensor parameters for tract-based analysis of the uncinate fasciculus in subjects with Alzheimer disease (AD).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Both clinical and imaging criteria must be met to diagnose neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and multiple sclerosis. However, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders are often misdiagnosed as MS because of an overlap in MR imaging features. The purpose of this study was to confirm imaging differences between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and MS with visually detailed quantitative analyses of large-sample data.

Cochlear EH was present in 3.3% of 30 ears of 15 controls, 6.3% of 32 contralateral (contra) ears of 32 uMDs, 62.5% of 32 affected ears of 32 uMDs, and 55.6% of 18 affected ears of nine bMDs. Vestibular EH was observed in 6.7% of control ears, 3.1% of contra-uMD ears, 65.6% of affected uMD ears, and in 55.6% of affected bMD ears. Either cochlear or vestibular EH was present in 10.0% of control ears, 6.3% of contra-uMD ears, 81.3% of affected uMD ears, and 44.4% of affected bMD ears.

Vulnerable carotid plaques have a significantly higher risk of slow-flow phenomenon than stable plaques. The occurrence of the slow-flow phenomenon can be predicted by MR plaque imaging before CAS.