Incidental Findings on Brain MRI in the General Population

Abstract

Incidental brain findings on MRI, including subclinical vascular pathologic changes, are common in the general population. The most frequent are brain infarcts, followed by cerebral aneurysms and benign primary tumors. Information on the natural course of these lesions is needed to inform clinical management.

Identification of a progenitor cell of origin capable of generating diverse meningioma histological subtypes

“…Remarkably, in NF2 patients, the tumour burden (including meningiomas) is usually defined at a young age, with fewer tumours arising de novo later in adulthood (da Cruz et al, 2000). Moreover, the typical growth rate of benign meningiomas is slow (Olivero et al, 1995;Nakamura et al, 2003), and most meningiomas remain asymptomatic throughout life (Vernooij et al, 2007), such that nearly half of all meningiomas are incidentally discovered at autopsy (Nakasu et al, 1987). These observations suggest that meningioma initiation from a common PGDS ( þ ) progenitor cell may be an early event, whereas tumour development may take decades more to form by the addition of genetic and/or epigenetic events.…”

Rapid aneuploidy detection or karyotyping? Ethical reflection

“…The benefits of screening are not expected to outweigh the risks. 25,109 We are moving closer to a situation where imaging techniques will replace more invasive procedures such as colonoscopy. Considerable progress has already been made towards 'virtual CT colonoscopy'.…”

“…2 It is however clear that the screening has a high chance of producing false-positive outcomes (false alarms) and over-diagnosis (something is picked up, but the abnormality in question would never have led to symptoms or to the disease being diagnosed if screening had not taken place). 25,109 Abnormal outcomes not only cause fear and uncertainty, but also lead to iatrogenic health damage as a result of risky followup tests or therapeutic interventions. 116 The use of CT scanning apparatus also exposes people to radiation.…”

Higher intraocular pressure is associated with leukoaraiosis among middle-aged and elderly Koreans without glaucoma or dementia

“…[4][5][6] The term leukoaraiosis describes a pattern of diffuse white-matter abnormalities seen on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the periventricular and subcortical white matter. 7 Leukoaraiosis has long been regarded as a benign manifestation, with scarce or no clinical significance. However, leukoaraiosis is now drawing the interest of medical researchers, because it seems to be associated with a wide variety of geriatric health conditions, including gait disturbance, 8 ischemic stroke, 9 insulin resistance, and cognitive impairment.…”