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Assessment of cerebral microbleeds by susceptibility-weighted imaging at 3T in patients with end-stage organ failure

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Abstract

Purpose

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are small rounded lesions representing cerebral hemosiderin deposits surrounded by macrophages that results from previous microhemorrhages. The aim of this study was to review the distribution of cerebral microbleeds in patients with end-stage organ failure and their association with specific end-stage organ failure risk factors.

Materials and methods

Between August 2015 and June 2017, we evaluated 15 patients, 9 males, and 6 females, (mean age 65.5 years). Patients population was subdivided into three groups according to the organ failure: (a) chronic kidney failure (n = 8), (b) restrictive cardiomyopathy undergoing heart transplantation (n = 1), and (c) end-stage liver failure undergoing liver transplantation (n = 6). The MR exams were performed on a 3T MR unit and the SWI sequence was used for the detection of CMBs. CMBs were subdivided in supratentorial lobar distributed, supratentorial non-lobar distributed, and infratentorial distributed.

Results

A total of 91 microbleeds were observed in 15 patients. Fifty-nine CMBs lesions (64.8%) had supratentorial lobar distribution, 17 CMBs lesions (18.8%) had supratentorial non-lobar distribution and the remaining 15 CMBs lesions (16.4%) were infratentorial distributed. An overall predominance of supratentorial multiple lobar localizations was found in all types of end-stage organ failure. The presence of CMBs was significantly correlated with age, hypertension, and specific end-stage organ failure risk factors (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

CMBs are mostly founded in supratentorial lobar localization in end-stage organ failure. The improved detection of CMBs with SWI sequences may contribute to a more accurate identification of patients with cerebral risk factors to prevent complications during or after the organ transplantation.

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Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Gianvincenzo Sparacia, Roberto Cannella & Angelo Gambino

  2. Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services, IRCCS-ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies), Palermo, Italy

    Gianvincenzo Sparacia, Giuseppe Mamone & Roberto Miraglia

  3. Neurology Unit, IRCCS-ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies), Palermo, Italy

    Vincenzina Lo Re

Authors
  1. Gianvincenzo Sparacia
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  2. Roberto Cannella
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  3. Vincenzina Lo Re
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gianvincenzo Sparacia.

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Conflict of interest

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Gianvincenzo Sparacia, MD. The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Ethical standards

Our retrospective cohort study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Research Review Board (IRRB) of our institution, and informed consent form was waived.

Informed consent

Written informed consent to the MR exam was obtained from all subjects (human participants, patients) in this study.

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Sparacia, G., Cannella, R., Lo Re, V. et al. Assessment of cerebral microbleeds by susceptibility-weighted imaging at 3T in patients with end-stage organ failure. Radiol med 123, 441–448 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-018-0863-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-018-0863-x

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