BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Little has been known about the clinical and angiographic follow-up results of stent-only therapy for intracranial vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms (VBDA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, clinical, and angiographic follow-up of stent-only therapy for VBDA.

We reviewed the MRI findings of germinomas originating from the basal ganglia, thalamus or deep white matter in 13 patients with 14 germinomas, excluding those in the suprasellar or pineal regions. Ten cases were confirmed as germinomas by stereotaxic biopsy, three by partial and one by total removal of the tumour. Analysis was focussed on the location and the signal characteristic of the tumour, haemorrhage, cysts within the tumour and any other associated findings. Thirteen of the tumours were in the basal ganglia and one in the thalamus. Haemorrhage was observed in seven patients, while twelve showed multiple cysts. Associated ipsilateral cerebral hemiatrophy was seen in three patients. The signal intensity of the parenchymal germinomas was heterogeneous on T1- and T2-weighted images due to haemorrhage, cysts and solid portions. We also report the MRI findings of germinomas in an early stage in two patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Although coiling has been favorably comparable with clipping for treatment of most intracranial aneurysms, there is a controversy on which modality is safer for anterior choroidal artery (AchoA) aneurysm. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcomes and treatmentrelated complications after surgical clipping and endovascular coiling of AchoA aneurysms.

Preoperative 3D-TOF MRA can identify the relationship between the facial nerve and adjacent vessels in patients with a hemifacial spasm and assist in preoperative planning. This study suggests that 3D-TOF MRA is useful for selecting appropriate patients for surgical treatment and, to some extent, as an additional role for predicting the clinical outcome.

SPIO-enhanced MRI demonstrated through in-vivo monitoring that macrophages participate in reperfusion injury at early stages of injury development. SPIO-enhanced MRI could be a useful tool to examine the inflammatory mechanisms involved in reperfusion brain injury.