BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Tinnitus is a common disorder, and the etiology remains mostly unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the causative effect of the vascular loop and compression of the vestibulocochlear nerve at the cerebellopontine angle in patients with unexplained tinnitus.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of spinal and paraspinal anatomic markers in both the diagnosis of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTVs) and identification of vertebral levels on lumbar MRI.Materials and MethodsLumbar MRI from 1049 adult patients were studied. By comparing with the whole-spine localizer, the diagnostic errors in numbering vertebral segments on lumbar MRI were evaluated. The morphology of S1-2 disc, L5 and S1 body, and lumbar spinous processes (SPs) were evaluated by using sagittal MRI. The positions of right renal artery (RRA), superior mesenteric artery, aortic bifurcation (AB) and conus medullaris (CM) were described.ResultsThe diagnostic error for evaluation of vertebral segmentation on lumbar MRI alone was 14.1%. In lumbarization, all patients revealed a well-formed S1-2 disc with squared S1 body. A rhombus-shaped L5 body in sacralization and a rectangular-shaped S1 body in lumbarization were found. The L3 had the longest SP. The most common sites of spinal and paraspinal structures were: RRA at L1 body (53.6%) and L1-2 disc (34.1%), superior mesenteric artery at L1 body (55.1%) and T12-L1 disc (31.6%), and AB at L4 body (71.1%). CM had variable locations, changing from the T12-L1 disc to L2 body. They were located at higher sacralization and lower lumbarization.ConclusionThe spinal morphologic features and locations of the spinal and paraspinal structures on lumbar MRI are not completely reliable for the diagnosis of LSTVs and identification on the vertebral levels.

The minimally invasive CEMRC is an effective method with higher sensitivity and specificity than T2MRC in the evaluation of CSF fistulas.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of glenohumeral anatomic measurements on MR imaging with supraspinatus tendon tears. The study was approved by the institutional review board and informed consent was obtained from each subject. Forty-two patients (mean age 55.5 years; age range 40-73 years) with supraspinatus tendon tears and 50 asymptomatic shoulders of 32 controls (mean age 43 years; age range 17-69 years) without rotator cuff tears were included. The acromio-glenoid and supraspinatus-glenoid angles were measured on coronal images, the glenoid and humeral head version as well as the bicipital-humeral distance on axial images. Significant differences were found between the patients and controls for both glenoid version and bicipital-humeral distance, which are considered to influence the distribution of forces placed on the cuff (p < 0.05). The patients had a decreased glenoid version by an average of 2.3 degrees (-7.1 +/- 7.8 degrees vs. -4.8 +/- 5.6 degrees), and a decreased bicipital-humeral distance by an average of 2.7 mm (12.1 +/- 3.7 mm vs. 14.8 +/- 4.1 mm). No significant differences were found between these groups for humeral head version and the acromio-glenoid and supraspinatus-glenoid angles, which might contribute to extrinsic impingement by narrowing the supraspinatus tendon outlet. Differences in glenoid and humeral version may be responsible for RC tears by changing the orientation of the rotator cuff and thus increasing shearing stress.

AIM: Topical hemostatic agents are widely used in brain surgery but they have some disadvantages such as foreign body reaction, being a focus for infection and causing artifacts in radiological examinations. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of microporous polysaccharide hemospheres (MPH) with a well known agent, oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC), histopathologically and radiologically. MATeRIAL and MeTHodS: Standard brain lesions (4x1mm) were created in 24 hemispheres in 12 New-Zealand rabbits. Animals were divided into three groups; control, ORC and MPH. Twenty-four hours later, all rabbits magnetic resonance brain imaging. After imaging, the animals were sacrificed and the brains were removed for histopathological analysis. ReSULTS: Histopathological analysis showed no significant difference between the groups. Radiological examination showed no significant difference between the MPH and ORC groups in terms of edema but the edema in control group was significantly prominent than MPH and ORC groups (p<0.001). CoNCLUSIoN: A new agent (MPH) provides safe and effective hemostasis in the brain in this study. The most important advantage of microporous polysaccharide hemospheres is their rapid clearance from the surgical field and therefore having the potential of causing less imaging artifacts.