Lucato L T, Guedes M S, Sato J R, Bacheschi L A, Machado L R, Leite C C
Department of Radiology, Clinics Hospital of the University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2007 Sep;28(8):1501-4. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A0623.
There are few studies comparing the capacity of lesion detection of conventional MR imaging in neurocysticercosis (NCC). This study was designed to clarify its role in the evaluation of this disease, focusing on the total number of lesions identified and the characterization of the scolex.
MR images from 115 patients were prospectively collected during a 3-year interval, including axial spin-echo (SE) T1-weighted; axial fast SE T2-weighted; axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR); and gadolinium-enhanced axial, coronal, and sagittal SE T1-weighted sequences. They were compared regarding the potential for detection of NCC lesions and specifically of the scolex.
Comparing all sequences, we found that FLAIR images were more sensitive to the detection of the scolex (P < .003), whereas the last gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted series (coronal or sagittal) identified the highest number of lesions (P < .001).
When dealing with NCC, optimal MR imaging protocols should include FLAIR images to obtain maximal rates of scolex detection. Special attention should be paid to the last gadolinium-enhanced sequence, which maximizes the quantification of lesion load.
比较常规磁共振成像（MR成像）检测神经囊尾蚴病（NCC）中病灶能力的研究较少。本研究旨在阐明其在该疾病评估中的作用，重点关注所识别病灶的总数以及头节的特征。
前瞻性收集了115例患者在3年期间的MR图像，包括轴位自旋回波（SE）T1加权像；轴位快速SE T2加权像；轴位液体衰减反转恢复（FLAIR）像；以及钆增强轴位、冠状位和矢状位SE T1加权序列。比较了它们检测NCC病灶尤其是头节的潜力。
比较所有序列后，我们发现FLAIR图像对头节检测更敏感（P < 0.003），而最后一个钆增强T1加权序列（冠状位或矢状位）识别出的病灶数量最多（P < 0.001）。
在处理NCC时，最佳MR成像方案应包括FLAIR图像以获得最高的头节检测率。应特别关注最后一个钆增强序列，它能使病灶负荷的量化最大化。
