DIFFERENTIATION OF TUMORAL AND NONTUMORAL LESIONS IN CERVICAL CORD AND BRAINSTEM BY TRACTOGRAPHY

Diagnosis of Spinal Cord And Brainstem Lesions By Structural MRI Has Always Been Questionable And Challenging. Both Tumoral And Nontumoral Lesions Such As Demyelinating And Inflammatory Disease Have Common Structural Characters. Neither IV Contrast Injection Nor DWI Or SWI Sequences Can Help In This Issue And Biopsy From Lesion Is The Next Step For Definite Diagnosis. Due To These Problem And Importance Of Differentiation Of These Entities We Decided To  Use Tractography To Facilitate This Purpose. We Considered 27 Patients With Intramedullary  Lesion In Cord And Brainstem With Uncertain Diagnosis Based On Structural Imaging, Physical Exam Or Laboratory Findings. By Tractography We Evaluated Fiber Tracts Closely And The Behavior of Fibers And Correlated The Results With Pathology Report Or Lesion Progression Or Regression Over Time.
Sometimes They Displace Around The Lesion And Sometimes They Pass Through That And Physically Speaking We Can Estimate The Nature And Character of Pathology.
Diagnosis of Spinal Cord And Brainstem Lesions By Structural MRI Has Always Been Questionable And Challenging. Both Tumoral And Nontumoral Lesions Such As Demyelinating And Inflammatory Disease Have Common Structural Characters. Neither IV Contrast Injection Nor DWI Or SWI Sequences Can Help In This Issue And Biopsy From Lesion Is The Next Step For Definite Diagnosis. Due To These Problem And Importance Of Differentiation Of These Entities We Decided To  Use Tractography To Facilitate This Purpose. We Considered 27 Patients With Intramedullary  Lesion In Cord And Brainstem With Uncertain Diagnosis Based On Structural Imaging, Physical Exam Or Laboratory Findings. By Tractography We Evaluated Fiber Tracts Closely And The Behavior of Fibers And Correlated The Results With Pathology Report Or Lesion Progression Or Regression Over Time.
Sometimes They Displace Around The Lesion And Sometimes They Pass Through That And Physically Speaking We Can Estimate The Nature And Character of Pathology.