We describe the clinical and neuroimaging features of 6 drug-abuse patients with self-inflicted manganese poisoning. The patients injected a home-brewed mixture called "ephedrone" (slang term) that contained manganese to produce an amphetamine-like euphoria. The desired chemical product, phenylpropanoneamine (also called methcathinone), was synthesized from a common-cold-remedy compound using permanganate as the catalyst. Manganese was a by-product in the ephedrone mixture. After months of self-injections, a clinical picture emerged, consisting of apathy, bradykinesia, gait disorder with postural instability, and spastic-hypokinetic dysarthria. There was no response to levodopa. The MRI revealed symmetric hyperintense T1-weighted signals in the basal ganglia, typical of manganese accumulation.

The data received in our study demonstrate a substantial restriction of diffusion of hydrogen molecules in tissues of ccRCC in comparison with the healthy renal parenchyma preconditioned by the greater density of tumor. A statistically significant difference in mean ADC values of ccRCC with different grades of nuclear pleomorphism by Fuhrman was observed: Low-grade tumors showed higher mean ADC values compared to high-grade tumors. The modality of the MRI DWI along with ADC measurement allows to reliably differentiate between the solid RCC of main histologic subtypes and grades, cystic RCC, and the benign renal lesions.

SummaryBackgroundDiffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is an MRI modality using strong bipolar gradients to create a sensitivity of the signal to the thermally-induced Brownian motions of water molecules and in vivo measurement of molecular diffusion. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is a quantitative parameter calculated from DWI images which is used as a measure of diffusion. DWI allows to obtain comprehensive information on morphological and functional state of the kidney during a single examination without contrast medium administration. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the value of DWI in differentiating benign and malignant solid kidney tumors based on the initial stage of the study.Material/MethodsThe study included 19 adult patients with pathologically verified renal tumors: 9 patients with clear cell subtype of the renal cell carcinoma, 5 patients with oncocytoma and 5 patients with angiomyolipoma (AML). In addition, 5 healthy volunteers with completely normal findings according to kidney ultrasound were included into this study and set as reference. All patients underwent renal MR imaging which included DWI with subsequent ADC measurement. MR imaging was performed with a 1.5 T body scanner using an eight-channel phased-array body coil.ResultsThe mean ADC value of ccRCC was significantly lower than that of normal renal parenchyma (2.11±0.25×10−3 mm2/s vs. 3.36±0.41×10−3 mm2/s, p<0.01). There was a significant difference in ADC between the malignant and benign renal lesions: in patients with angiomyolipoma the ADC value was 2.36±0.32×10−3 mm2/s vs. 2.11±0.25×10−3 mm2/s; p<0.05 and in patients with oncocytoma – 2.75±0.27×10−3 mm2/s vs. 2.11±0.25×10−3 mm2/s; p<0.05. The difference in ADC values in patients with high and low ccRCC grades was observed.ConclusionsDWI can be used to characterize renal lesions; the ADC of a renal lesion can be potentially used as an additional parameter to help determine the appropriate clinical management.

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