I hear that a friend has been diagnosed with an “atrosity” of the brain, and that it’s “not an aneurysm”. This is third-hand information, and perhaps was garbled in the translation. Anyone know something that sounds like “atrosity” that would show up in an MRI?
Thanks!
WAG: Arterio-venous malformation. AKA AVM.
I don’t know, but if you google for atrocity brain you sure get a lot of interesting non-medical hits.
Thank you. The symptoms described therein sound like hers, and I’ll bet your WAG isn’t all that W.
Maybe the word “atrocity” was due to hearing “art(e)r(io-ven)ous” through a whole bunch of fear.
You’re welcome.
I bet the word “tortuosity” got used in the original description, too.
I’d bet the word you’re looking for is “atrophy,” as in “shrinkage.” It’s much closer than “arterio-venous.” However, I do know a few people who have what I would call an atrocity of the brain.
Perhaps. My money is still on AVM tho. Especially since the patient/family was apparently re-assured that it wasn’t an aneurysm. A common reassurance for AVMs, but not so much for cerebral atrophy.
I agree with QtM.
Brain atrophy is seen in previously brain injured individuals, whether from injury, disease, or perinatal misadventure.
I’ve never heard of atrophy showing up in a normal brain, without something underlying.
Of course, this doesn’t mean it has never happened. I’m just saying I haven’t heard of it in 40 years of critical care.
AVMs can be seen in anyone. In fact, they are more common that one might think. They aren’t always in the brain. Its just that those are the ones that can be most serious.
Hopefully, Gabrila will drop by to speak to this.
That would be Gabriela :smack:
I may not be Gabriela, but will venture, nevertheless, that the actual diagnosis might have been a “brain monstrosity”.
Of course, at least one fellow suffered from a brain aminosity (which he managed to shed, thank God).
Rarer still, are the mysterious, but probably linked, disorders affecting “brain velocity”, “brain luminosity”, and “brain viscosity”. Scientists first discovered the link by noting that people whose brains move slowly are considered dull and thick.
Interestingly, the idea of the purported independence of the superficially similar condition known as “brain mediocrity” was eventually proven to be nothing more than the product of one scientist’s “brain grandiosity” - hardly a curiosity.
And, speaking of curiosity, you’ll be relieved to learn that research on “brain curiosity” is ongoing.
Well, we need a little history, we know nothing about the pt. While the above is fine for PICU, I routinely see little old people with scan results of atrophy, “well, good news, it’s not an acute cerebral vascular accident.” Just my window on the world,
Larry
More background:
My friend is sixty. She had been thinking as clearly as always. Went in for pain in abdomen, chest, arm… spent a couple of days in the hospital.
Had a “heart cath” (whatever that is) and was told her heart was in very good condition.
Had an MRI the other day, and now we’re up to the original post, “an atrocity of an artery in the brain, no, not an aneurysm”…
thanks for all the input so far.
When I get more information from her directly, I’ll let you know what the word really was, but that Mercotan dude is sure making sense to me.
“heart cath.” ~ This is a procedure known as a catherterization you basically check the pipes out for blockage. One approach starts with a blood vessel in the leg, and a probe is inserted and pushed up throught until the heart is approached.
MRI ~ This is M(agnetic) R(esonance) I(maging), in which magneteic firelds are used to vibrate the hydrogen atoms in your body. The resulting information is used to construct a 3-D image.
fMRI ~ This is f(unctional) MRI; essentially an MRI in which the haemoglobin is vobrated. This information yields a metabolic and structural snapshot.
