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Background. Much variation is found in the development of hand function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP). Objective. To explore how anatomic brain abnormalities can be used to predict the development of hand function. Methods. A total of 32 children with unilateral CP (16 boys and 16 girls) were evaluated at least once a year by the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA). The data collection covered an age range from 18 months to 8 years (mean time in study, 4 years and 6 months). Computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain were assessed for patterns of brain damage, including the location of gray and extent of white-matter damage. The children were divided into groups according to lesion characteristics, and a series of univariate models were analyzed with a nonlinear mixed-effects model. The rate and maximum limit of development were calculated. Results. The highest predictive power of better development of hand function was the absence of a concurrent lesion to the basal ganglia and thalamus, independent of the basic type of brain lesion. This model predicted both the rate of increasing ability and hand function at age 8 years. Hand function was also predicted by the basic pattern of damage and by the extent of white-matter damage. The presence of unilateral or bilateral damage had no predictive value. Conclusions. Neuroradiological findings can be used to make a crude prediction of the future development of the use of the affected hand in young children with unilateral CP.

Background: For decades, normalized one-dimensional (1D) measures have been used in the evaluation of brain atrophy. In multiple sclerosis (MS), the use of normalized linear measures over longitudinal follow-up remains insufficiently documented. Purpose: To evaluate the association between different regional atrophy measures and disability in MS patients over four decades in a longitudinal cross-sectional study. Material and Methods: 37 consecutively selected MS patients were included. At baseline, patients had a range of disease duration (1–33 years) and age (24–65 years). Each patient was followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for a mean of 9.25 years (range 7.3–10 years). Four 1D measures were applied at three time points on axial 5-mm T1-weighted images. Three clinical MS subgroups were represented: relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and primary progressive MS (PPMS). Results: There were significant changes in all 1D ratios during follow-up. The Evans ratio (ER) and the bifrontal ratio (BFR) were associated with the development of disability. Changes of ER and BFR reflected more aggressive disease progression, as expressed by MS severity score (MSSS). Conclusion: All four normalized ratios showed uniform atrophy progression, suggesting a consistent rate of atrophy over long-term disease duration independent of MS course. Disability status correlated with 1D measures, suggesting that serial evaluation of Evans and bifrontal ratios might contribute to the radiological evaluation of MS patients.

The importance of UEMS is well known to many medical specialists in Europe. UEMS (Union Europeenne des Medecins Specialistes/European Union of Medical Specialists) today represents 35 national organisations, some 1.6M medical specialists, and is involved in professional issues important to European specialists. UEMS, as an officially recognised and permanent consulting organisation to the European Institutions, has a significant influence on how these issues are formulated in Directives and Laws introduced in the European Parliament. UEMS is the one and only representation of medical specialists for the European Commission and Parliament. Most decisions regarding medical specialists are prepared in cooperation with UEMS. The full members of UEMS are the National Medical Associations; each specialty is represented by a Section or a Division. To have a UEMS Section or Division means that your specialty is recognised in Europe. The Division of Neuroradiology is the face and voice of European Neuroradiology in Brussels and thus in Europe. The Division truly represents all European neuroradiologists as a "Union" and is representing neuroradiologists in professional and legal issues. Scientific issues, however, are managed by the Scientific societies, while educational and training are shared interests.

Nancy, To : Members of WFNRS Presidents National Societies of Neuroradiology Individual Members of National Societies of Neuroradiology The World Federation of Neuroradiological Societies — WFNRS — was originally conceived by Prof. Derek Harwood-Nash and was established in 1993. The mission statement reads: WFNRS is an umbrella organization composed of 25 national and regional neuroradiological societies. It fosters international saentific and educational programs in neuroradiology and promotes cooperative projects between its member organizations and those in allied disciplines. This mission statement is held in very general terms and can be claimed to be non-committing! It is almost 20 years since the WFNRS was established and Radiology and Neuroradiology in particular, has seen a breathtakingly quick technical development not only in our discipline but also in the society in general. Internet and the advent of rapid data communications have redrawn the map and completely changed the conditions for an organisation like WFNRS. Although the social aspects of a scientific meeting can not be underestimated, the traditional way of communicating experiences and scientific ideas during large and small scientific meetings and courses is not fast enough and new types of meeting places are established every day. The WFNRS has an organisation and particularly a constitution of the past and has yet to take the step into the 21st Century. Whether we like it or not, radiology as a single discipline is unlikely to survive. Future neuroradiologists will probably not need to have general radiology training. Thus it will be necessary to reform the training of neuroradiologist into becoming a neuroscientist with an imaging profile with or without competence in endovascular treatment. It will be necessary to reorganise future departments of radiology in order to support organ or disease process oriented work flow with distributed equipment localised close to the patient and in an intellectual environment with organ-specialised clinicians of various profiles. The nature of neuroradiology today is not a specialty focused on producing an ever increasing number of examinations and reports but rather a clinical specialty in which the neuroradiologist can have an intellectual exchange of knowledge and skills providing added value to patient care with his or her particular competence in imaging interpretation and minimally invasive treatment as applied in patients with diseases of the central nervous system. This is the challenge of the new decade and the early parts of the 21st Century! It is this understanding of our future that must guide the activities of the WFNRS the next decade. We should not be in the business of arranging courses or meetings. There are other organisations far better equipped and proficient in these tasks. We should not think that we can have a leading role in research or providing networks for exchange of scientific news. This is done anyway! It is for this reason that the outgoing and incoming presidents of the WFNRS has agreed to present the following program for the next four years. It is to realise this program that we ask your approval 1. The future of WFNRS we believe is to a significant degree in cyber space. We are convinced that the most important mode of communication with a world wide membership is over internet. 2. We plan to use the funds remaining from previous contributions to develop a web-site of WFNRS. 3. We propose a nominal fee for society membership in WFNRS for the coming two years — USD 50.00 for annual membership 2010-2011 4. We will perform an inventory of those training charters available in different parts of the world. These charters will be made available on the web-site 5. This inventory should be used to formulate WFNRS guidelines about training in diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology 6. We propose that WFNRS will prepare and formulate Technical and Professional Guidelines in other areas such as: a. Continuing medical education/continuing professional development b. Quality assurance c. Accreditation of training centres d. Good medical care in neuroradiology e. Good standard of practice in interventional neuroradiology f. Postgraduate training — examination 7. Support subspecialisation within neuroradiology a. Support preparation of Technical and Professional Guidelines b. Invite subspecialisation societies to join WFNRS 8. Provide a discussion forum for the future of neuroradiology a. Future training of neuroradiologists b. Relationship with neuro science c. Foster exchange of ideas within neuroscience d. Future training of neuroscientists with imaging profile It is our conviction that WFNRS could play an important role in the coming decade provided that the activities of the Federation "add value" to the membership societies, and their members. Should we fail in this concept, and you are the judges about our success, it is possible that the world of neuroradiology would do well without a World Federation. Sincerely yours Luc Picard President WFNRS Olof Flodmark President Elect WFNRS

Aicardi's syndrome occurs in females and is associated with profound mental retardation, agenesis of the corpus callosum, chorioretinal lacunae, and infantile spasms. We report a distinctive combination of abnormalities which was observed on real-time cranial ultrasound scans of two infants with Aicardi's syndrome. These abnormalities include bilateral prominent cysts in the choroid plexus in conjunction with agenesis of the corpus callosum. Recognition of these radiologic findings may suggest the diagnosis of Aicardi's syndrome in early infancy even prior to the onset of seizures or visualization of chorioretinal lacunae. (J Child Neurol 1989;4:307-310).