Juvenile xanthogranuloma of the subdural spaces mimicking chronic hematoma with positive FDG uptake on PET: case report

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-453
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Kahn ◽  
Jeffrey T. Waltz ◽  
Ramin M. Eskandari ◽  
Cynthia T. Welsh ◽  
Michael U. Antonucci
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Juvenile Xanthogranuloma ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Advanced Imaging ◽  
Systemic Involvement ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Infancy And Early Childhood

The authors report an unusual presentation of juvenile xanthogranuloma (JXG), a non–Langerhans cell histiocytosis of infancy and early childhood. This entity typically presents as a cutaneous head or neck nodule but can manifest with more systemic involvement including in the central nervous system. However, currently there is limited information regarding specific imaging features differentiating JXG from other neuropathological entities, with diagnosis typically made only after tissue sampling. The authors reviewed the initial images of a young patient with shunt-treated hydrocephalus and enlarging, chronic, extraaxial processes presumed to reflect subdural collections from overshunting, and they examine the operative discovery of a mass lesion that was pathologically proven to be JXG. Their results incorporate the important associated histological and advanced imaging features, including previously unreported metabolic activity on FDG PET. Ultimately, the case underscores the need to consider JXG in differential diagnoses of pediatric intracranial masses and highlights the potential role of PET in the initial diagnosis and response to treatment.

Invasive cardiac aspergillosis as contiguous infiltration from mediastinum: Imaging evaluation using cardiac MRI

2021 ◽  
pp. 021849232110646
Author(s):  
Arun Sharma ◽  
Shayeri Roy Choudhury ◽  
Ajay Bahl ◽  
Uma Nahar ◽  
Manphool Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Mri ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Diagnostic Challenge ◽  
Fatal Disease ◽  
Imaging Evaluation ◽  
Fungal Isolation ◽  
Appropriate Therapy ◽  
High Index Of Suspicion

Invasive cardiac aspergillosis is a rare, potentially fatal disease which poses a significant diagnostic challenge. Combination of clinical details, imaging features, fungal markers, serology and fungal isolation with demonstration of invasion is usually necessary to establish the diagnosis. High index of suspicion is the key for early diagnosis with potential role of cardiac MRI in its early detection, delineation of extent of involvement and guidance to the appropriate site for tissue sampling, thereby allowing for improved prognosis with early institution of appropriate therapy.

scholarly journals Tryptophan Metabolism: A Link Between the Gut Microbiota and Brain

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kan Gao ◽  
Chun-long Mu ◽  
Aitak Farzi ◽  
Wei-yun Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Therapeutic Option ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Tryptophan Metabolism ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Synthesis And Degradation

ABSTRACT The gut-brain axis (GBA) is a bilateral communication network between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the central nervous system. The essential amino acid tryptophan contributes to the normal growth and health of both animals and humans and, importantly, exerts modulatory functions at multiple levels of the GBA. Tryptophan is the sole precursor of serotonin, which is a key monoamine neurotransmitter participating in the modulation of central neurotransmission and enteric physiological function. In addition, tryptophan can be metabolized into kynurenine, tryptamine, and indole, thereby modulating neuroendocrine and intestinal immune responses. The gut microbial influence on tryptophan metabolism emerges as an important driving force in modulating tryptophan metabolism. Here, we focus on the potential role of tryptophan metabolism in the modulation of brain function by the gut microbiota. We start by outlining existing knowledge on tryptophan metabolism, including serotonin synthesis and degradation pathways of the host, and summarize recent advances in demonstrating the influence of the gut microbiota on tryptophan metabolism. The latest evidence revealing those mechanisms by which the gut microbiota modulates tryptophan metabolism, with subsequent effects on brain function, is reviewed. Finally, the potential modulation of intestinal tryptophan metabolism as a therapeutic option for brain and GI functional disorders is also discussed.

Primary Central Nervous System Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma is an Unusual Brain Tumour

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Dionysis Papadatos-Pastos ◽  
James Hall ◽  
Ruth Pettengell ◽  
Leslie R Bridges ◽  
Barry Newell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Cell Lymphoma ◽  
Large Cell ◽  
Anaplastic Lymphoma ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Large Cell Lymphoma

We present a case of a 64-year-old man who was diagnosed with a primary anaplastic large cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (PCNSAL). He had received radical chemotherapy and radiotherapy for a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the past. There is no known association between NSCLC and PCNSAL. We describe the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with these rare intracranial lymphomas and highlight the potential role of newer biological agents in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK-1) positive PCNSAL.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Formyl Peptide Receptor Dysfunction to the Course of Neuroinflammation: A Potential Role in the Brain Pathology

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Trojan ◽  
Natalia Bryniarska ◽  
Monika Leśkiewicz ◽  
Magdalena Regulska ◽  
Katarzyna Chamera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Membrane Receptors ◽  
Formyl Peptide Receptor ◽  
Proinflammatory Response ◽  
Formyl Peptide ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
The Brain

: Chronic inflammatory processes within the central nervous system (CNS) are in part responsible for the development of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. These processes are associated with, among other things, the increased and disturbed activation of microglia and the elevated production of proinflammatory factors. Recent studies indicated that the disruption of the process of resolution of inflammation (RoI) may be the cause of CNS disorders. It is shown that the RoI is regulated by endogenous molecules called specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), which interact with specific membrane receptors. Some SPMs activate formyl peptide receptors (FPRs), which belong to the family of seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors. These receptors take part not only in the proinflammatory response but also in the resolution of the inflammation process. Therefore, the activation of FPRs might have complex consequences. : This review discusses the potential role of FPRs, and in particular the role of FPR2 subtype, in the brain under physiological and pathological conditions and their involvement in processes underlying neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders as well as ischemia, the pathogenesis of which involves the dysfunction of inflammatory processes.

Supracardiac atherosclerosis in embolic stroke of undetermined source: the underestimated source

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Ntaios ◽  
Max Wintermark ◽  
Patrik Michel
Keyword(s):  
Stroke Risk ◽  
Embolic Stroke ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Atherosclerotic Plaques ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Advanced Imaging ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Intracranial Arteries ◽  
Embolic Risk

Abstract The term ‘embolic stroke of undetermined source’ (ESUS) is used to describe patients with a non-lacunar ischaemic stroke without any identified embolic source from the heart or the arteries supplying the ischaemic territory, or any other apparent cause. When the ESUS concept was introduced, covert atrial fibrillation was conceived to be the main underlying cause in the majority of ESUS patients. Another important embolic source in ESUS is the atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid, vertebrobasilar, and intracranial arteries, or the aortic arch—collectively described as supracardiac atherosclerosis. There is emerging evidence showing that the role of supracardiac atherosclerosis is larger than it was initially perceived. Advanced imaging methods are available to identify plaques which high embolic risk. The role of novel antithrombotic strategies in these patients needs to be assessed in randomized controlled trials. This review presents the evidence which points towards a major aetiological association between atherosclerotic plaques and ESUS, summarizes the imaging features which may aid to identify plaques more likely to be associated with ESUS, discusses strategies to reduce the associated stroke risk, and highlights the rationale for future research in this field.

scholarly journals Potential Role of Phenolic Extracts of Mentha in Managing Oxidative Stress and Alzheimer’s Disease

Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 631
Author(s):  
Doaa M. Hanafy ◽  
Geoffrey E. Burrows ◽  
Paul D. Prenzler ◽  
Rodney A. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Phenolic Constituents ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Developed Nations

With an increase in the longevity and thus the proportion of the elderly, especially in developed nations, there is a rise in pathological conditions that accompany ageing, such as neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive and memory decline. The pathophysiology of the disease is poorly understood, with several factors contributing to its development, such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, cholinergic neuronal apoptotic death, and the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain. Current medications are only palliative and cannot stop or reverse the progression of the disease. Recent clinical trials of synthetic compounds for the treatment of AD have failed because of their adverse effects or lack of efficacy. Thus, there is impetus behind the search for drugs from natural origins, in addition to the discovery of novel, conventional therapeutics. Mints have been used traditionally for conditions relevant to the central nervous system. Recent studies showed that mint extracts and/or their phenolic constituents have a neuroprotective potential and can target multiple events of AD. In this review, we provide evidence of the potential role of mint extracts and their derivatives as possible sources of treatments in managing AD. Some of the molecular pathways implicated in the development of AD are reviewed, with focus on apoptosis and some redox pathways, pointing to mechanisms that may be modulated for the treatment of AD, and the need for future research invoking knowledge of these pathways is highlighted.

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