Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Can MRI help diagnose acute Guillain-Barré syndrome in kids?
Focusing on the terminal end of the spinal cord, known as the medullary conus, the combination of plain MRI and contrast-enhanced, T1-weighted MR imaging can be very sensitive in diagnosing acute Guillain-Barré syndrome in children.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves. Symptoms begin with weakness in the extremities, which can spread to eventually paralyze the body.The study, from Guangzhou Medical College in China, assessed 24 cases of acute Guillain-Barré syndrome in children, focusing on both the medullary conus and the lower end of the spinal cord, known as the cauda equina. The length of illness ranged from four days to 26 days from the onset of weakness in a child's limbs.
"MRI has an excellent contrast in soft tissues, and it can distinguish subtle signal differences between normal and abnormal nerves," said presenter Dr. Zhongjun Hou, associate chief physician and associate professor in radiology. "After contrast enhancement, MRI can display the thickened and demyelinated cauda equina clearly."
MRI exams of the spine included both sagittal T1- and T2-weighted images and an axial T2-weighted MRI exam of the medullary conus. Contrast-enhanced, T1-weighted MRI with fat suppression also was performed on sagittal, coronal, and axial planes. The largest diameter of aggregated clusters of the thickened cauda equina was measured based on the findings of the axial scan in each case.
Through the comparison of plain MRI and contrast-enhanced, T1-weighted MRI exams, the researchers were able to determine the degree of cauda equina involvement and other partial spinal nerves in acute Guillain-Barré syndrome in children.
"For clinicians, they have to clarify the causes of rapid flaccid paralysis of children, and MRI can rule out important alternative differential diagnoses," Hou said. "Then, [MRI] can also provide the range, location, and severity of the involved cauda equina."
Hou and colleagues plan to continue their work in this area, drawing on the capability of diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) in the central nervous system to image the cauda equina to potentially provide more information about the lower end of the spine.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Google begins India registrations for Galaxy Nexus...
NEW YORK: India may figure among the 18 select countries where technology giant Googlewould launch its upcoming smartphone Galaxy Nexus, widely being billed as an iPhone-killer, in its first phase later this month.
Google aims to make available this device, which would rival technology major Apple's smartphone iPhone, later this month in the US,Canada, and select European and Asian countries.
To start with, Google has launched specific web pages for India and 17 other countries, where prospective customers can register for getting further updates about the various features and availability status of Galaxy Nexus.
Apart from India, other countries which will receive the upcoming smartphone in the first phase are--- Australia, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, the US, the UK, Taiwan, Thailand and Netherlands.
Galaxy Nexus would be based on the latest version of Google's flagship Android mobile operating system, named Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
The device would have features like 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 4.65 inch HD display and the facility of fourth generation telephony services.
"With Ice Cream Sandwich, our mission was to build a mobile OS that works on both phones and tablets, and to make the power of Android enticing and intuitive," Google had said.
Google aims to make available this device, which would rival technology major Apple's smartphone iPhone, later this month in the US,Canada, and select European and Asian countries.
To start with, Google has launched specific web pages for India and 17 other countries, where prospective customers can register for getting further updates about the various features and availability status of Galaxy Nexus.
Apart from India, other countries which will receive the upcoming smartphone in the first phase are--- Australia, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, the US, the UK, Taiwan, Thailand and Netherlands.
Galaxy Nexus would be based on the latest version of Google's flagship Android mobile operating system, named Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
The device would have features like 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 4.65 inch HD display and the facility of fourth generation telephony services.
"With Ice Cream Sandwich, our mission was to build a mobile OS that works on both phones and tablets, and to make the power of Android enticing and intuitive," Google had said.
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