Hyperostosis frontalis interna and hyperphosphatasemia

Internal Acoustic Canal Stenosis Due to Hyperostosis

Background  Exostoses and osteomas are benign, insidious lesions of the bone involving the internal acoustic canal (IAC). We present two cases of IAC exostoses managed with surgical decompression and review the clinical outcomes of previously reported cases in the literature. Methods  A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed Central, Web of Science Core Collection, and Google Scholar databases to identify previous reports of IAC exostoses and osteomas. A total of 26 reported cases were identified, and patient presenting symptoms, management strategies, and response to surgery was obtained when available. Results  Of the 13 patients who underwent surgical decompression, 8 patients had resolution of vertigo symptoms, 10 patients had improvement of tinnitus symptoms, and all patients maintained some level of serviceable hearing. Conclusion  IAC exostoses and osteomas are rare lesions that lead to insidious onset of debilitating symptoms from vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction. Although the role of surgical decompression remains unclear, it appears that patients presenting with vertigo have more favorable response to surgical decompression as compared with those presenting with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss.

Simultaneous bilateral real-time 3-d transcranial ultrasound imaging at 1 MHz through poor acoustic windows

Ultrasound imaging has been proposed as a rapid, portable alternative imaging modality to examine stroke patients in pre-hospital or emergency room settings. However, in performing transcranial ultrasound examinations, 8%-29% of patients in a general population may present with window failure, in which case it is not possible to acquire clinically useful sonographic information through the temporal bone acoustic window. In this work, we describe the technical considerations, design and fabrication of low-frequency (1.2 MHz), large aperture (25.3 mm) sparse matrix array transducers for 3-D imaging in the event of window failure. These transducers are integrated into a system for real-time 3-D bilateral transcranial imaging-the ultrasound brain helmet-and color flow imaging capabilities at 1.2 MHz are directly compared with arrays operating at 1.8 MHz in a flow phantom with attenuation comparable to the in vivo case. Contrast-enhanced imaging allowed visualization of arteries of the Circle of Willis in 5 of 5 subjects and 8 of 10 sides of the head despite probe placement outside of the acoustic window. Results suggest that this type of transducer may allow acquisition of useful images either in individuals with poor windows or outside of the temporal acoustic window in the field.

Hyperostosis frontalis interna, a genetic disease?: Two medieval cases from Southern Poland

Two cases of thickening of the internal tables of the frontal bones (hyperostosis frontalis interna, (HFI)) have been examined. These were two female skeletons from the 16th century Dominican Church in Raciborz (Southwest Poland). The similarity of their morphological and metrical traits indicates that they could be related, and suggests that HFI is likely to have a genetic base. These two skeletons are the subject of an analysis which may possibly throw some new light on the controversial and continually disputed nature of this illness.

Unilateral hyperostosis frontalis interna. Case report

The authors describe a case of atypical unilateral prominent hyperostosis frontalis interna in a 50-year-old Japanese woman with psychiatric symptoms. Radiological, computerized tomographic, operative, and histological findings of this rare case are presented.