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Background: Time-resolved (TR) contrast-enhanced 3D MR angiography has recently received considerable attention for the workup of cerebrovascular diseases, foremost dural arteriovenous fistula and arteriovenous malformation, and potentially for the evaluation of dural sinus thrombosis. Thereby, the dynamic visualization of cerebral vessels is enabled similar to the principle of digital subtraction angiography. Yet, its voxel size is relatively large due to an inherent trade-off between the desired spatial and temporal resolutions. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether the limited spatial resolution of TR MR venography (MRV) is sufficient to visualize dural venous sinuses., Methods: The prospective study included 20 patients without compromise of cerebral venous outflow. Two neuroradiologists independently graded the quality of visualization of 11 predefined dural venous sinuses on images of fast TR contrast-enhanced MRV (1.5 s/dataset; voxel size, 2 x 2 x 2.2 mm; acquisition time, 37.5 s) in comparison to time-of-flight (TOF) MRV (voxel size, 0.8 x 0.8 x 4 mm; acquisition time, 3 min 51 s) and steady-state contrast-enhanced 3D (VIBE) MRV (voxel size, 1.1 x 0.9 x 1.5 mm; acquisition time, 2 min 46 s)., Results: The torcular Herophili (p < 0.001), left (p < 0.001) and right (p < 0.01) transverse sinus, and right jugular bulb (p < 0.05) were visualized better at TR MRV than at TOF MRV. For visualization of the small inferior sagittal sinus, TR MRV was inferior to VIBE (p < 0.001) and TOF (p < 0.05) sequences. The visibility of all other dural sinuses was equal., Conclusion: Despite the inferior spatial resolution, TR MRV depicted some large dural sinuses more clearly than TOF MRV. To overcome the visualization of smaller venous structures, TR MRV can be applied complementarily with high-resolution steady-state contrast-enhanced MRV.

A 44-year-old male patient suffering from sexual and voiding dysfunction did not exhibit any sensorimotor deficit except for a lax anal sphincter with loss of the bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR). The absence of both the electrically induced BCR and cortical evoked responses to stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve as well as partial denervation of the pelvic floor musculature suggested damage to the lower sacral roots. The site of the lesion as indicated by electrophysiological findings was confirmed by computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The operation revealed a lipoma involving a few cauda fibers which produced a distension in the region of the conus medullaris.

20 patients who had clinical symptoms and/or signs of compression of the 7th and/or 6th cervical roots were examined. Motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities, velocities in the proximal segment of the median nerve determined by measuring F-wave latencies, cervical somatosensory evoked potentials, and needle electromyographic records of the Mm. deltoideus, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, abductor pollicis brevis, and abductor digiti quinti were investigated. Only in 11 out of the 20 patients electromyographical results coincided with the clinical findings with regard to the level of the root lesion. F-wave conduction velocities within the proximal segment of the median nerve were completely normal. Somatosensory evoked potentials revealed alterations in 8 cases; 2 of them showed an additional alteration on the clinically apparently healthy side. In our opinion the various electrophysiological methods seem to have only a limited value in the diagnosis and localization of cervical root compression syndromes.

43 patients with facial myokymia were examined clinically and electromyographically over periods of up to 13 years. 18 patients were suffering from multiple sclerosis, 6 patients from brain stem tumour or tumours of the posterior cranial fossa, and 19 from other known or unknown neurological disorders. Duration, recurrences, EMG results of myokymia and its accompanying neurological symptoms are discribed.