Vessel Wall MRI (VW-MRI) is an emerging MR sequence used for diagnosis, characterization, and tre... more Vessel Wall MRI (VW-MRI) is an emerging MR sequence used for diagnosis, characterization, and treatment planning of cerebrovascular diseases. Although VW-MRI is not yet routinely used, most papers have emphasized its role in several aspects of the management of cerebrovascular diseases. Nowadays, no VW-MRI sequence optimized for the intracranial imaging is commercially available, thus the Spin Echo sequences are the more effective sequences for this purpose. Moreover, as one of the principal technical requirements for intracranial VW-MR imaging is to achieve both the suppression of blood in vessel lumen and of the outer cerebrospinal fluid, different suppression techniques have been developed. This short report provides the technical parameters of our VW-MR sequence developed over 3-years’ experience.
A female infant was born at 35-week gestation by emergency C-section because of abnormal cardioto... more A female infant was born at 35-week gestation by emergency C-section because of abnormal cardiotocography. No birthmarks were evident. Cord pH was 6.87; therefore, an amplitudeintegrated electroencephalography monitoring was performed soon after birth, showing leftsided electrical seizures. Cranial ultrasound revealed left hemisphere atrophy, with subcortical Figure 1 Bilateral electroencephalography/amplitude-integrated electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy patterns Electroencephalography/amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (A), cerebral oxygenation (cTO 2, B), and total hemoglobin concentration (cTHC, C) patterns. The electrical seizure in the left hemisphere is accompanied by simultaneous ipsilateral acute changes in cTO 2 and cTHC in the left frontoparietal lobe (red arrow), detected using a NIRO-200NX oximeter (Hamamatsu, Japan).
Therapy-related neurotoxicity greatly affects possibility of survival and quality of life of pedi... more Therapy-related neurotoxicity greatly affects possibility of survival and quality of life of pediatric patients treated for cancer. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is heterogeneous, varying from very mild and transient symptoms to extremely severe and debilitating, or even lethal syndromes. In this review, we will discuss the broad scenario of CNS complications and toxicities occurring during the treatment of pediatric patients receiving both chemotherapies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Different types of complications are reviewed ranging from therapy related to cerebrovascular with a specific focus on neuroradiologic and clinical features.
Background: To determine the prevalence of Idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papillede... more Background: To determine the prevalence of Idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papilledema (IIHWOP) testing revised diagnostic criteria by Friedman in refractory chronic headache (CH) patients. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. Each patient underwent ophthalmologic evaluation and Optical Coherence Tomography; brain magnetic resonance venography (MRV) and a lumbar puncture (LP) with opening pressure (OP) measurement. CSF withdrawal was performed in patients with CSF OP > 200 mmH20. IIHWOP was defined according Friedman's diagnostic criteria. Effect of CSF withdrawal was evaluated clinically in a 6-month follow-up and with a MRV study at 1 month. Results: Forty-five consecutive patients were enrolled. Five were excluded due to protocol violations. Analyses were conducted in 40 patients (32 F, 8 M; mean age 49.4 ± 10.8). None had papilledema. Nine patients (22.5%) had OP greater than 200 mmH2O, two of them above 250 mmH2O. Two (5%) had neuroimaging findings suggestive of elevated intracranial pressure. One of them (2.5%) met the newly proposed diagnostic criteria by Friedman for IIHWOP. After CSF withdrawal seven (77.8%) of the nine patients improved. No changes in neuroimaging findings were found. Conclusions: We found a low prevalence (2.5%) of IIHWOP in refractory CH patients according to current diagnostic criteria. In agreement with Friedman's criteria, our results confirm that a diagnosis of IIHWOP should be based on CSF OP and the combination of neuroradiological findings. However, where to set the CSF OP upper limit in IIHWOP needs further field testing. Although IIHWOP is a rare clinical condition, it should be considered and treated in refractory CH patients.
Vessel Wall MRI (VW-MRI) is an emerging MR sequence used for diagnosis, characterization, and tre... more Vessel Wall MRI (VW-MRI) is an emerging MR sequence used for diagnosis, characterization, and treatment planning of cerebrovascular diseases. Although VW-MRI is not yet routinely used, most papers have emphasized its role in several aspects of the management of cerebrovascular diseases. Nowadays, no VW-MRI sequence optimized for the intracranial imaging is commercially available, thus the Spin Echo sequences are the more effective sequences for this purpose. Moreover, as one of the principal technical requirements for intracranial VW-MR imaging is to achieve both the suppression of blood in vessel lumen and of the outer cerebrospinal fluid, different suppression techniques have been developed. This short report provides the technical parameters of our VW-MR sequence developed over 3-years’ experience.
A female infant was born at 35-week gestation by emergency C-section because of abnormal cardioto... more A female infant was born at 35-week gestation by emergency C-section because of abnormal cardiotocography. No birthmarks were evident. Cord pH was 6.87; therefore, an amplitudeintegrated electroencephalography monitoring was performed soon after birth, showing leftsided electrical seizures. Cranial ultrasound revealed left hemisphere atrophy, with subcortical Figure 1 Bilateral electroencephalography/amplitude-integrated electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy patterns Electroencephalography/amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (A), cerebral oxygenation (cTO 2, B), and total hemoglobin concentration (cTHC, C) patterns. The electrical seizure in the left hemisphere is accompanied by simultaneous ipsilateral acute changes in cTO 2 and cTHC in the left frontoparietal lobe (red arrow), detected using a NIRO-200NX oximeter (Hamamatsu, Japan).
Therapy-related neurotoxicity greatly affects possibility of survival and quality of life of pedi... more Therapy-related neurotoxicity greatly affects possibility of survival and quality of life of pediatric patients treated for cancer. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is heterogeneous, varying from very mild and transient symptoms to extremely severe and debilitating, or even lethal syndromes. In this review, we will discuss the broad scenario of CNS complications and toxicities occurring during the treatment of pediatric patients receiving both chemotherapies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Different types of complications are reviewed ranging from therapy related to cerebrovascular with a specific focus on neuroradiologic and clinical features.
Background: To determine the prevalence of Idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papillede... more Background: To determine the prevalence of Idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papilledema (IIHWOP) testing revised diagnostic criteria by Friedman in refractory chronic headache (CH) patients. Methods: This is a prospective observational study. Each patient underwent ophthalmologic evaluation and Optical Coherence Tomography; brain magnetic resonance venography (MRV) and a lumbar puncture (LP) with opening pressure (OP) measurement. CSF withdrawal was performed in patients with CSF OP > 200 mmH20. IIHWOP was defined according Friedman's diagnostic criteria. Effect of CSF withdrawal was evaluated clinically in a 6-month follow-up and with a MRV study at 1 month. Results: Forty-five consecutive patients were enrolled. Five were excluded due to protocol violations. Analyses were conducted in 40 patients (32 F, 8 M; mean age 49.4 ± 10.8). None had papilledema. Nine patients (22.5%) had OP greater than 200 mmH2O, two of them above 250 mmH2O. Two (5%) had neuroimaging findings suggestive of elevated intracranial pressure. One of them (2.5%) met the newly proposed diagnostic criteria by Friedman for IIHWOP. After CSF withdrawal seven (77.8%) of the nine patients improved. No changes in neuroimaging findings were found. Conclusions: We found a low prevalence (2.5%) of IIHWOP in refractory CH patients according to current diagnostic criteria. In agreement with Friedman's criteria, our results confirm that a diagnosis of IIHWOP should be based on CSF OP and the combination of neuroradiological findings. However, where to set the CSF OP upper limit in IIHWOP needs further field testing. Although IIHWOP is a rare clinical condition, it should be considered and treated in refractory CH patients.
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Papers by Francesco Toni