Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), a failure to develop the large bundle of fibres that connect the cerebral hemispheres, occurs in 1:4000 individuals. It is characterized by a partial or complete absence (agenesis) of an area of the brain that connects the two cerebral hemispheres. The cause of ACC is usually not known, but it can be inherited as either an autosomal recessive trait or an X-linked dominant trait. It can also be caused by an infection or injury during the twelfth to the twenty-second week of pregnancy leading to developmental disturbance of the fetal brain. Intrauterine exposure to alcohol can also result in ACC. In some cases mental retardation may result, but intelligence may be only mildly impaired and subtle psychosocial symptoms may be present. Prognosis varies depending on the type of callosal abnormality and associated conditions or syndromes. Online searches of the databases EMBASE, PubMed, and Medline were performed, using the search terms children, corpus callosum, agenesis, absence, genetics, and neuroimaging. In this article, we presented genetics, epidemiology, and neuro-imaging of ACC for the last decade
Echinococcosis, is a parasitic disease of tapeworms in the genus Echinococcus. We report an unusual case of a 17-year-old girl with asymptomatic hepatic echinococcosis. The patient was admitted to the hospital after a car accident to perform routine radiological exams. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a cystic mass of size 65 × 52 mm in the right lobe of liver. Computed tomography (CT) confirmed the cystic mass of size 67 mm x 59 mm x 56 mm in the right lobe of the liver. A routine brain CT was normal. Laboratory tests revealed a high count of eosinophil count (6.9%). Serological tests confirmed Echinococcus granulosus. The patient was transferred to the department of infectious diseases for further treatment.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is proven risk factor associated with higher mortality and morbidity among hospitalized patients. The widespread use contrast media opens the discussion about the acute kidney injury as a result of used contrast - contrast induced nephropathy (CIN). CIN is defined as an acute, generally reversible decline in renal function that occurs 48-72 hours after intravascular injection of contrast medium. Pre-existing renal insufficiency is characterised independent risk factor for occurrence of CI-AKI, other factors,such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, advanced age or hemodynamic instability increase the risk of AKI, but are not characterized as independent risk factors. Published new large retrospective single-center studies presented equal risk of AKI among patients receiving contrast enhanced computer tomography if compared to unenhanced computer tomography, based on serum creatinine levels. In our review we would like to present a persisting the problem of CIN after intravenous (iv) as well intra-arterial contrast media administration
Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, during childbirth, or following birth. Purpose: To study the selected risk factors for spastic CP in a retrospective study involving children with CP. Materials and methods: The study population included 92 children with spastic CP. The analysis of data from the case records of both groups included the following: child’s age, gender, pregnancy order, birth order, type of birth, time of birth, Apgar scores, birth weight, epilepsy, and psychomotor development. Results: CP occurred more often in boys. A total of 27 children had congenital hemiplegia, 35 had diplegia, and 30 had spastic tetraplegia. The mean gestational age at birth for children with CP was 35.96 ± 4.2 weeks versus a mean of 39.2 ± 1.4 (p<0.001) for the control group. The mean number of pregnancies and deliveries for mothers of children with CP compared to the control group did not differ significantly. Vaginal births and cesarean sections in the group of children with CP and controls occurred in similar percentages. The birth weight of children with CP (2615.8 ± 935.1) was significantly lower than the birth weight among the control group (3343.2 ± 497) (p=0.04). Almost 40 percent of the children with CP were born to mothers who had preterm labours compared to only 5.2 percent of controls. A mean Apgar score for children with CP (5.9 ± 3.3) at 1 minute was significantly lower than that for children without CP (9.10 ± 1.5) (p<0.001). Of the children with CP, 20 percent had epilepsy; none of the children without CP had epilepsy; 22 percent had slight delays, 17 percent had moderate delays, and 12 percent had severe delays. Conclusions: Gender, prematurity, low birthweight, asphyxia and epilepsy were related to the development of CP.
Purpose: This study reports the clinical profile of children with abnormalities of the corpus callosum in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and methods: Children with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), hypoplasia, and dysgenesis were identified in a database of patients at the Department of Pediatric Radiology. Medical records were then systematically reviewed. Twenty brain MRI scans of children with abnormalities of the corpus callosum were chosen randomly and retrospectively analyzed. We also analyzed age, gender, motor development, mental development, epilepsy, and concomitant disorders. Results: The study group was composed of 20 children with various disorders (11 girls, 9 boys). The ages of the children ranged from 4 months to 17 years, with a mean age of 9.8 years. Almost all children were born at term. More than half of patients 11(55%) had ACC, 6 children had hypoplasia of the corpus callosum hypoplasia and 3 patients had an absence of genu of the corpus callosum or splenium. Nine children had mental retardation. Four patients had hydrocephalus and two had meningomyelocele, while two patients had Dandy-Walker syndrome and one had holo-prosencephaly. Three patients had headache. One patient had tics syndrome and one Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Fifteen children had normal motor development, with three using a wheelchair, and two unable to sit and walk. Three patients had epilepsy. Conclusion: A spectrum of clinical presentations is apparent in children with abnormalities of the corpus callosum.
Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a nonradiographic, non-invasive method to visualize and quantify muscle cross-sectional areas and volumes. Purpose: To evaluate a gastrocnemius muscle volume in a 15-year-old male with facioscapulo-humeral dystrophy (FSHD) using MRI. Material and methods: The patient with FSHD was given subcutaneously recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor - filgrastim (5μg/kg body/day) for 5 consecutive days during the first, second, and third months. The Siemens Magnetom 0.3T MRI scanner was used to acquire the images of the right calf of the patient. The analysis of MR images used advanced biomedical imaging software-Analyze 10 Biomedical Imaging Software. Results: The patient with FSHD after 6 month of the treatment compared with baseline had greater volume of the gastrocnemius muscle volume of the right calf. Muscle volume increased from 60,567.5 mm3 to 70,795.6 mm3. The increased of muscle volume of this patient correlated with the improvements of muscle strength and EMG. Conclusion: MR imaging can provide quantitative, reproducible volumetric measures of muscles in the patients with FSHD.
The authors report an unusual case of a 15-year-old boy who dove into a shallow lake and suffered a cervical fracture of C5 affecting the spinal cord. This resulted in tetraplegia. Vitamin D3 deficiency and a history of several bone fractures supported an idea that the patient's bone structure had been weakened. The deep vein thrombosis of lower limb and neurogenic heterotopic ossification of a hip limited the effectiveness of physical therapy.
Purpose: To determine the volume of the cerebellum in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) in relation to risk factors and motor development. Material and methods: The present study included 30 children with spastic CP, aged 2-17 years. The volume of the cerebellum was examined on sagittal magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the CP patients and on 33 healthy subjects. To estimate the total cerebellum volume of each subject we used Analyze 10 Biomedical Imaging Software. Results: Children with spastic CP (129726,2 ± 26040,72 mm3) had a significantly smaller mean of the cerebellum volume compared to controls (143122,5 ± 12351,10 mm3). No significant difference between the total cerebellar volume and gender in patients with CP was found. No significant relationship between cerebellar volume and birth weight, Apgar score, gestational age, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level were noted. Positive correlations between birth weight, Apgar score, gestational age, and GMFCS level, between Apgar score and gestational age, or between gestational age and GMFCS level were found. Conclusion: Our results show that children with spastic CP had smaller volumes of the cerebellum as compared to controls.
Introduction: Children type 1 diabetes is accompanied by inflammation and microangiopathy pro-ceeded with increased degradation of tissues. Nacetyl-β-hexosaminidase (HEX) is the most active of exoglycosidases degrading oligo-saccharide chains of glycoconjugates (glycoproteins, glycolipids and proteoglycans). Purpose: To evaluate the hexosaminidase B (HEX B) activity in the saliva of children with type 1 diabetes. Materials and methods: The study was performed in 35 children with type 1 diabetes and 20 healthy children. Salivary HEX B activity was determined by the colorimetric, and protein by bicinchoninic acid methods. The HEX B activity concentration was expressed in pKat/mL and specific activity in pKat/µg of protein. Results: A significant increase in the concentration and the specific activity of HEX B in the saliva of children with type 1 diabetes, as compared to healthy children, was found. Conclusion: Children suffering from type 1 diabetes have increased catabolism of salivary gly-coconjugates by HEX B, which potentially may be useful in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children.
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