Kennedy D W, Zinreich S J, Kumar A J, Rosenbaum A E, Johns M E
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD.
Laryngoscope. 1988 Sep;98(9):928-33. doi: 10.1288/00005537-198809000-00005.
Magnetic resonance studies frequently demonstrate increased T2-weighted signal in the nasal area. To further evaluate this phenomenon, several MRI examinations of the nasal cavity were performed within an 8- to 12-hour period. The study demonstrated that changes alternated from side to side and were interrupted by the administration of topical vasoconstriction, confirming imaging of the normal nasal cycle. Changes were also observed within the ethmoid sinuses. Signal intensity on T2-weighted images during the congested phase was similar to inflammatory mucosa. Occasionally, these changes make interpretation of the extent of pathology difficult in patients with sinus disease, and raise the possibility of inflammatory pathology in asymptomatic patients. Awareness of MRI imaging of nasal cycle should reduce the likelihood of diagnostic errors and provides another method for study of this physiologic phenomenon.
磁共振研究经常显示鼻腔区域T2加权信号增强。为进一步评估这一现象，在8至12小时内对鼻腔进行了多次MRI检查。研究表明，这些变化左右交替，并因局部血管收缩剂的应用而中断，证实了正常鼻周期的成像。在筛窦内也观察到了变化。充血期T2加权图像上的信号强度与炎性黏膜相似。偶尔，这些变化会使鼻窦疾病患者的病理范围解读变得困难，并增加无症状患者存在炎性病变的可能性。了解鼻周期的MRI成像应能降低诊断错误的可能性，并为研究这一生理现象提供另一种方法。
