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Byline: Rajat. Verma, Chhitij. Srivastava, Bal. Ojha, Anil. Chandra, R. Garg, Monica. Kohli, Hardeep. Singh, Anit. Parihar, Shalini. Tripathi Background: Hydrocephalus is an abnormal excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) [...]

This article, titled "Role of Ultrasound-Guided Trucut Nerve Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Pure Neuritic Leprosy: The Way Forward," discusses the use of ultrasound-guided trucut nerve biopsy as an alternative to invasive open nerve biopsy for diagnosing pure neuritic leprosy (PNL). The study conducted six cases of PNL and found that trucut nerve biopsy was minimally invasive, had few patient complications, and was well-accepted by patients. The biopsy samples were examined histopathologically and through PCR testing, with positive results for acid-fast bacilli (M. leprae) in two cases. The authors conclude that trucut nerve biopsy may be a viable alternative to open nerve biopsies for diagnosing PNL. [Extracted from the article]

This article from the Arab Journal of Interventional Radiology discusses the use of balloon-assisted chemoembolization (C-TACE) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with arterioportal fistula and portal invasion. Arterioportal shunts can complicate the use of C-TACE by causing embolizing agents to flow away from the HCC and potentially cause nontarget embolization. The article presents a case study of a 45-year-old male with liver SOL and Hepatitis B +VE Chronic Liver Disease who underwent balloon-assisted C-TACE. The procedure was successful, and the patient ultimately underwent live donor liver transplantation. The authors conclude that balloon-assisted C-TACE can be selectively used in cases of arterioportal fistula to reduce nontarget embolization and safely shrink the tumor. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Cutaneous mucormycosis has shown a significant upsurge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the rapid progression and high mortality of cutaneous mucormycosis in this context, it is important to identify it early. However, very few studies report detailed clinical descriptions of cutaneous mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Objectives: To describe mucocutaneous lesions of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis based on clinical morphology and attempt to correlate them with radiological changes. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care centre from 1st April to 31st July 2021. Eligibility criteria included hospitalised adult patients of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis with mucocutaneous lesions. Results: All subjects were recently recovering COVID-19 patients diagnosed with cutaneous mucormycosis. One of fifty-three (2%) patients had primary cutaneous mucormycosis, and all of the rest had secondary cutaneous mucormycosis. Secondary cutaneous mucormycosis lesions presented as cutaneous-abscess in 25/52 (48%), nodulo-pustular lesions in 1/52 (2%), necrotic eschar in 1/52 (2%) and ulceronecrotic in 1/52 (2%). Mucosal lesions were of three broad sub-types: ulcero-necrotic in 1/52 (2%), pustular in 2/52 (4%) and plaques in 1/52 (2%). Twenty out of fifty-two patients (38%) presented with simultaneous mucosal and cutaneous lesions belonging to the above categories. Magnetic resonance imaging of the face showed variable features of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue involvement, viz. peripherally enhancing collection in the abscess group, "dot in circle sign" and heterogeneous contrast enhancement in the nodulo-pustular group; and fat stranding with infiltration of subcutaneous tissue in cases with necrotic eschar and ulcero-necrotic lesions. Limitations: The morphological variety of cutaneous mucormycosis patients in a single-centre study like ours might not be very precise. Thus, there is a need to conduct multi-centric prospective studies with larger sample sizes in the future to substantiate our morphological and radiological findings. Conclusions: COVID-19-associated mucormycosis patients in our study presented with a few specific types of mucocutaneous manifestations, with distinct magnetic resonance imaging findings. If corroborated by larger studies, these observations would be helpful in the early diagnosis of this serious illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Disseminated neurocysticercosis is defined as simultaneous involvement of the brain (≥3 cysts) and at least one additional body site/organ. We aimed to identify disseminated cystic lesions in other body parts and investigate the effect of albendazole. Methods We enrolled patients with multiple (≥3) neurocysticercosis brain lesions. Whole-body MRI (short tau inversion recovery coronal sequences) was performed to assess the number of lesions in the brain and other body parts at baseline and 3 months after albendazole therapy. Results We screened 35 patients with multiple brain neurocysticercosis. In 13 patients, whole-body MRI demonstrated disseminated neurocysticercosis lesions. Ten patients were treated with albendazole. We excluded three patients. Brain MRI showed a mean lesion count of 163.6±193.8. Whole-body MRI (excluding the brain) showed a mean lesion count of 629.9±486.1. After albendazole therapy, the lesion load of the brain reduced significantly (163.6±193.8 to 99±178.3; p=0.008). Similarly, whole-body MRI showed a significant reduction in extracerebral neurocysticercosis lesion load (629.9±486.1 to 183.4±301.9; p=0.005). Three patients had complete resolution, five patients showed ≥50% reduction and two patients had <50% reduction in extracerebral lesion load. Conclusion Whole-body MRI should routinely be performed in multiple neurocysticercosis lesions of the brain. Albendazole treatment leads to a remarkable reduction in neurocysticercosis lesions throughout the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a case of a 13-year-old girl with Hallervorden-Spatz disease (HSD) or pantothenate kinase-2 associated neurodegeneration (PKAN). HSD is a rare neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by a rapidly progressive extrapyramidal syndrome, dementia with optic atrophy, and retinal degeneration. It is associated with accumulation of cysteine-iron complex in the globus pallidi and substantia nigra. The MRI "eye of the tiger" sign is the characteristic. MRI spectroscopy is also characteristic. It shows markedly decreased NAA/Cr values in the globus pallidi and substantia nigra with increased mI/Cr values that suggest of gliosis.

Swyer James syndrome is a rare syndrome which occurs due to viral illness in early childhood. The post infective obliterative bronchiolitis results in arrest of lung growth and alveolarization with reduced vascularity resulting in classical radiological features. We describe two cases of patients fulfilling all the criteria of the syndrome - 1) Unilateral hyperlucent small lung in chest radiograph with air trapping on expiration, small ipsilateral hila and pulmonary artery. 2) Diffuse decrease in attenuation of lung parenchyma with bronchiectasis and reduction in vascularity. 3) Unilateral pruned tree appearance on angiography (MRA). The clinical presentation was recurrent chest infection in a child and infrequent bouts of hemoptysis in a middle aged female. The study demonstrates the role of magnetic resonance angiography in diagnosing the condition.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are an intriguing group of pulmonary disorders, which still require the study of epidemiological, genetic, pathophysiological, clinical, and radiological parameters. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an underreported complication in interstitial lung diseases which is associated with worse outcome. In our study, we have reported the spectrum of ILDs and estimated the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension among these subjects at a tertiary care center. A cross-sectional study was performed in which demographical, clinical, radiological, and histological data of subjects with ILD, attending the Department of Respiratory Medicine in the University was collected from 1st September 2018 to 31st August 2019. Serological tests were done wherever indicated. Standard criteria along with multidisciplinary opinion were needed to arrive at the final diagnosis. All subjects were screened for pulmonary hypertension via 2-D echocardiography. Mean pulmonary artery pressure =20 mmHg was used to define PH. In the defined period, 239 subjects were enrolled (58% females, n=141; mean age 52.38±13.40 years). A tissue diagnosis was obtained in 34% cases. The most common ILD was hypersensitivity pneumonitis (32.2%), followed by autoimmune-ILD (31.4%), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (15.9%) and sarcoidosis (12.6%), non-IPF idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis (2.1%) and rest 21 (5.9%) subjects were diagnosed as other types of ILD. Pulmonary hypertension was seen in 46.0% of subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]