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Background: The aim of the study is to identify the advantages, if any, of post-operative MRIs performed at 48 h compared to MRIs performed after 48 h in glioblastoma surgery. Materials and Methods: To assess the presence of a residual tumor, the T1-weighted Contrast Enhancement (CE), Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC), and Cerebral Blood Volume (rCBV) in the proximity of the surgical cavity were considered. The rCBV ratio was calculated by comparing the rCBV with the contralateral normal white matter. After the blind image examinations by the two radiologists, the patients were divided into two groups according to time window after surgery: ≤48 h (group 1) and >48 h (group 2). Results: A total of 145 patients were enrolled; at the 6-month follow-up MRI, disease recurrence was 89.9% (125/139), with a mean patient survival of 8.5 months (SD 7.8). The mean ADC and rCBV ratio values presented statistical differences between the two groups (p < 0.05). Of these 40 patients in whom an ADC value was not obtained, the rCBV values could not be calculated in 52.5% (21/40) due to artifacts (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study showed differences in CE, rCBV, and ADC values between the groups of patients undergoing MRIs before and after 48 h. An MRI performed within 48 h may increase the ability of detecting GBM by the perfusion technique with the calculation of the rCBV ratio.

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging is constantly gaining more importance in rheumatology, particularly for what concerns the diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment response evaluation. Initially applied principally for the study of ankylosing spondylitis, in the last years, its use has been extended to several other rheumatic diseases. Particularly in the pediatric population, WB-MRI is rapidly becoming the gold-standard technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of both chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis and juvenile spondyloarthritis. In this review, we analyze the benefits and limits of this technique as well as possible future applications.

Background: Traumatic brachial plexus injuries are rare but serious consequences of major traumas. Pre-ganglionic lesions are considered irreparable, while post-ganglionic injuries can be potentially treated if an early diagnosis is available. Pre-surgical diagnosis is important to distinguish low-grade from high-grade lesions and to identify their location. The aim of the review is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the identification of adult post-ganglionic lesions due to traumatic brachial plexus injuries, compared to intraoperative findings. Methods: Research on the main scientific electronic databases was conducted. Studies of adults with traumatic post-ganglionic brachial plexus injuries were included. The index test was preoperative MRI and the reference standard was surgical exploration. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results: Four studies were included for the systematic review, of which three articles met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Pooled sensitivity and pooled specificity values resulted high. The sensitivity value is associated with a high heterogeneity index of the selected literature. Conclusion: MRI can be considered, despite the limits, the gold standard exam in morphological evaluation of brachial plexus injuries, particularly in the diagnosis of post-ganglionic traumatic injuries.

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows investigation at the microstructural level, employing techniques able to reveal white matter changes. In the current study, a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis, with a collection of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) indexes, was performed in ALS patients to correlate geno- and phenotype features with MRI data, to investigate an in-vivo correlation of different neuropathological patterns. All patients who underwent the MR-DTI analysis were retrospectively recruited. MRI scan was collected within three months from diagnosis. FA and ADC values were collected in corpus callosum (CC), corona radiata (CR), cerebral peduncle (CR), cerebellar peduncle (CbP) and corticospinal tract at posterior limb of internal capsule (CST). DTI analysis performed in the whole ALS cohort revealed significant FA reduction and ADC increase in all selected regions, as widespread changes. Moreover, we observed a higher value of FA in rCR in bulbar patients. A positive correlation between ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised and FA in rCP was evident. In consideration of the non-invasiveness, the reliability and the easy reproducibility of the method, we believe that brain MRI with DTI analyses may represent a valid tool usable as a diagnostic marker in ALS.

Whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with diffusion-weighted imaging (WB-MRI-DWI) is currently emerging as a diagnostic technique in the evaluation of bone metastases from breast, prostate, lung, thyroid, and melanoma tumors. The most relevant articles regarding the detection of solid tumor bone metastases with MRI have been reviewed and cited. The imaging methods currently used in the detection of bone metastases are bone scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET/CT) with 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-d-glucose (18F-FDG PET/CT). WB-MRI-DWI allows qualitative and quantitative evaluation of focal lesions through signal intensity evaluation on DWI images and the reconstruction of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map. In prostate and breast cancer, WB-MRI-DWI is useful in assessing the response of bone lesions to therapy and to detecting early non-responders, while in lung cancer the method shows a similar sensitivity to 18F-FDG PET/CT in the detection of bone metastases. In bone metastases of thyroid tumors and melanoma, the WB-MRI-DWI shows a higher sensitivity when compared to 18F-FDG PET/CT. With a standardization of the WB-MRI-DWI protocol, this method seems to play an important role in the diagnosis of bone solid tumor metastases.