A press release has been sent to the medical news media for the following articles appearing in the October print issue of Radiology and published ahead of time at RSNA.org/Radiology.

Treatment of Wide-necked Intracranial Aneurysms by Neuroform Stent-assisted Coil Embolization during Acute (<72 hours) Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Experience of 61 Consecutive Patients

For ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms that are difficult to treat by surgical ligation or balloon-assisted embolization, stent-assisted coil embolization may be a feasible alternative, researchers have found.

Preoperative digital subtraction angiographic (DSA) three-dimensional reformation of wide-necked basilar tip aneurysm. Note the secondary pouch of the aneurysm. DSA images obtained during and after the procedure show that a 3 × 15 mm Neuroform stent has been deployed across the neck of the aneurysm from the basilar artery to the left P1 segment and that the aneurysm is almost completely occluded with Matrix coils. Only a very small neck remnant is seen in the left margin of the aneurysm. Balloon-assisted embolization would have been an alternative treatment method in this case.

(Radiology 2009;253:199-208) © RSNA, 2009. All rights reserved. Printed with permission.

Olli I. Tähtinen, M.D., of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at Tampere University Hospital in Finland, and colleagues evaluated the results in 61 patients treated with stent-assisted coil embolization. "Statistical analysis was performed to determine whether the features of the patient and the ruptured aneurysm had an impact on the primary angiographic result or on the clinical outcome of the patient," the researchers explained.

After a mean follow-up of 12.1 months, Dr. Tähtinen and colleagues found the procedure's technical success rate was 72 percent, with a technique-related complication rate of 21 percent. "There was only one case of rebleeding," the researchers wrote, "and clinical outcome was good for the majority of the patients—69 percent had Glasgow Outcome Scores of 4–5 at the end of the study period."

"Ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms may be treated by stent-assisted embolization during acute subarachnoid hemorrhage if additional support or remodeling of the aneurysm neck is required," the researchers added. "The risk of subsequent rerupture of the aneurysm seems to be reduced compared to nonsecured aneurysm by early treatment."

Contribution of 3T Pelvic MRI in the Preoperative Assessment of Endometriosis: Initial Results

Compared to surgery and pathology, 3T MR imaging enables precise mapping and accurate diagnosis of deep endometriosis, researchers have found.

Sagittal fat-suppressed TSE T2-weighted MR images (3,835/48) in 37-year-old woman show normal appearance of the uterus, Douglas pouch, and vesicouterine pouch and deep endometriosis of the vesicouterine pouch infiltrating the bladder wall (arrow).

(Radiology 2009;253:126-134) © RSNA, 2009. All rights reserved. Printed with permission.

In a study of 41 patients, Nathalie Hottat, M.D., of the Department of Radiology at Université Libre de Bruxelles' Erasme Hospital in Brussels, Belgium, and colleagues found that 3T MR demonstrated 96.3 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity for diagnosing deep endometriosis. 3T MR provided high-resolution images that accurately depicted all locations of deep endometriosis, including thin anatomical structures like utero-sacral ligaments and colon wall, providing excellent preoperative assessment, Dr. Hottat and colleagues noted.

"The assessment of endometriosis may be laborious for the patient who has undergone multiple examinations as transvaginal ultrasound, transrectal ultrasound, barium enema, cytoscopy and rectoscopy," the researchers explained. "In patients with a clinical suspicion of endometriosis, a complete noninvasive preoperative assessment can be obtained at 3T MR imaging with an excellent accuracy and without any contrast material administration."

For more information on the study by Nathalie Hottat, M.D., and colleagues, read the RSNA News feature, "MR Imaging Accurately Depicts Deep Endometriosis."

Media Coverage of Radiology

In August, media outlets carried 240 news stories generated by articles appearing in the print and online editions of Radiology. These stories reached an estimated 161 million people.

A news release promoted findings from a study on stent-assisted embolization of ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms (Radiology 2009; 10.1148/radiol.2531081923). (See article above).

August coverage included WXYZ-TV (Detroit), Reuters, UPI, Nashville Pride, Afro-American Times (New York), Bottom Line/Health, Louisiana Weekly (New Orleans), Radiology Today, Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business (Kennewick, Wash.), Columbus Communicator (Ohio), Ozaukee County News Graphic (Milwaukee), Yahoo! News, Science Daily, Red Orbit, Discovery Health, Healthscout, AHealthyMe!, abcnews.com and healthcentral.com.

October Public Information Activities Focus on Breast Cancer Awareness

To highlight National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, RSNA will distribute public service announcements (PSAs) focusing on the importance of regular screening mammograms.

In addition, RSNA will distribute the "60-Second Checkup" radio program focusing on mammography screening/imaging and MR imaging as a supplement to mammography.