| Name | Renata |
| Surname | Conforti |
| Institution | Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli |
| Telephone | +39 081 2545575 |
| renata.conforti@unicampania.it | |
| Address | Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and Surgery, Università della Campania Studi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy |
| Resume | Download |
To evaluate the resting-state visual network functional connectivity in patients with migraine with aura and migraine without aura during the interictal period.
Understanding mechanisms for vessel tone regulation within the trigeminal nuclei is of great interest because some headache syndromes are due to dysregulation of such mechanisms. Previous experiments on animal models suggest that mastication may alter neuron metabolism and blood supply in these nuclei. To investigate this hypothesis in humans, arterial spin-labeling magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure blood perfusion within the principal trigeminal nucleus (Vp) and in the dorsolateral-midbrain (DM, including the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus) in healthy volunteers, before and immediately after a mastication exercise consisting of chewing a gum on one side of the mouth for 1 h at 1 bite/s. The side preference for masticating was evaluated with a chewing test and the volume of the masseter muscle was measured on T1-weighted MRI scans. The results demonstrated that the mastication exercise caused a perfusion increase within the Vp, but not in the DM. This change was correlated to the preference score for the side where the exercise took place. Moreover, the basal Vp perfusion was correlated to the masseter volume. These results indicate that the local vascular tone of the trigeminal nuclei can be constitutively altered by the chewing practice and by strong or sustained chewing.
Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome is characterized by bilateral facio-glosso-pharyngo-masticatory paralysis of voluntary movement due to bilateral anterior opercular lesions. We describe the case of a 17-year-old female affected by Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome and congenital cytomegalovirus infection, evaluating the possible etiopathogenetic correlation between cerebral cortical dysplasia and intrauterine infections.
The discrimination between recurrent glioma and radiation injury is often a challenge on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We verified whether adding and combining proton MR spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) information at 3 Tesla facilitate such discrimination.
To investigate the functional response of neural pathways associated with vestibular stimulation in patients with vestibular migraine (VM).
The aim of this study was to assess differences in the presence, size, number and site of dilated cerebral Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSd) between patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the inactive phase and healthy controls, and between MS patients with disabling (MSd) or nondisabling (MSnd) disease.
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a relatively common single-gene disorder, and is caused by heterozygous mutations in the NF1 gene that result in a loss of activity or in a nonfunctional neurofibromin protein. Despite the common association of NF1 with neurocutaneous features, its pathology can extend to numerous tissues not derived from the neural crest. Among the rare cerebrovascular abnormalities in NF1, more than 85% of cases are of purely occlusive or stenotic nature, with intracranial aneurysm being uncommon. Predominantly, the aneurysms are located in the internal carotid arteries (ICAs), being very rare bilateral aneurysms. This report describes a very unusual case of fusiform aneurysms of both ICAs in a Caucasian NF1 patient, with a new pathogenic intragenic heterozygous deletion of the NF1 gene, presenting at age 22 years with Tolosa-Hunt syndrome, because of partial thrombosis of the left giant intracavernous aneurysm. Medical treatment with anticoagulant therapy allowed a good outcome for the patient. In conclusion, early identification of cerebral arteriopathy in NF1 and close follow-up of its progression by neuroimaging may lead to early medical or surgical intervention and prevention of significant neurologic complications.