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Neuroimaging constitudes an important component in the diagnosis of the underlying infectious agents in central nervous system (CNS) infections. Despite the recent advances in neuroimaging evaluation, the diagnosis of unclear infectious CNS diseases remains a challenge. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used in routine practice to identify abnormal areas involved in CNS infections. More recent MRI techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), provide additional helpful information in the assessment of CNS infectious lesions compared with conventional MRI. This pictorial essay summarizes the clinical role of DWI in the demonstration of CNS infections including meningitis, encephalitis and pyogenic infections, and determination of the lesions compared with conventional MRI on the basis of physiopatho-logic phases of the infections. © Turkish Society of Radiology 2010.

WOS: 000285038500003, PubMed ID: 20027545, Computed tomography (CT) is very sensitive for detection and localization of intracranial calcifications. We reviewed in this pictorial essay the diseases associated with intracranial calcifications and emphasized the utility of CT for the differential diagnosis.

Purpose: To compare the frequency of pleural and parenchymal abnormalities detected on computed tomography (CT) in patients with and without acute pulmonary embolism (PE), and to investigate whether the pleuroparenchymal findings correlate with the severity of PE. Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed contrast-enhanced CT scans acquired in 128 patients suspected of having acute PE. The presence of filling defects consistent with PE was recorded, and the clot burden was quantified. The presence and the severity of parenchymal abnormalities, and the presence, size, and location of pleural effusions were recorded. Results: Forty-nine patients (38%) had CT evidence of PE with a mean degree of obstruction of 27 ± 21%. Parenchymal abnormalities were seen in 45 patients with PE (92%) and in 66 patients without PE (84%) (P = 0.28). Atelectasis, the most common finding, was present in 27 patients with PE (55%) and 42 patients without PE (53%) (P = 0.86). Wedge-shaped opacity was observed in 15 patients (31%) and consolidation was observed in 19 patients (39%) with PE (P = 0.001). Pleural effusions were present in 27 patients with PE (55%) and 42 patients without PE (53%) (P = 0.86). With regard to the severity of ancillary parenchymal findings, only the number of wedge shaped opacities showed mild correlation with the severity of PE (r = 0.34, P = 0.04). Conclusion: The majority of patients with and without PE demonstrate parenchymal and pleural findings on CT. Wedge-shaped opacities and consolidation are significantly associated with PE. Other parenchymal and pleural findings on CT do not correlate with the presence and severity of PE. © Turkish Society of Radiology 2008.