| Summary, etc. |
Infectious and immunological diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) are often complex. It is obligatory to require knowledge of pathology, anatomy, and physiology, as well as<br/>virology, parasitology, and immunology, to make a final diagnosis with confidence. Infections<br/>of the CNS frequently involve immunocompromised patients. Neuroimmunological diseases<br/>such as multiple sclerosis account for about 10% of all neurological diseases. Advanced MR<br/>techniques such as diffusion-weighted imaging, perfusion imaging, susceptibility-weighted<br/>imaging, as well as MR spectroscopy provide adjunct evidence on differentiating between<br/>infectious, immunological diseases of CNS and other entities, such as neoplastic, metabolic, or<br/>ischemic diseases. On the other hand, the cross study of imaging with autopsy and pathology<br/>will provide valuable and scientific evidence on the understanding and research of neuroinfections and neuroimmunology. How to resolve a couple of diagnostic problems in comprehensive textbook is still a huge challenge to the clinicians and neuroradiologists. This specific<br/>textbook serves as a practical approach toward imaging diagnosis in neuroinfections and<br/>neuroimmunology.<br/>This book primarily illustrates the neuroimaging characteristics and theory of CNS infections and neuroimmunology, serving as a practical pocketbook and clinical guidance for the<br/>understanding, prevention, and diagnosis of these entities. The book was divided into 3 consecutive parts and 19 chapters according to their different subjects. The first part briefly introduces advanced imaging modalities including multi-detector CT, high-field MRI, PET, and<br/>brain biopsy techniques, as well as diagnostic algorithm based on imaging patterns. The second part addresses in details variable CNS infections such as viral, bacterial, mycoplasmal,<br/>parasitic, and opportunistic, as well as some specific topics: cerebrovascular complications of<br/>infection, infections of spinal cord, and childhood infections. The third part covers multiple<br/>sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases, granulomatous diseases, autoimmune encephalitis,<br/>inflammatory diseases of the meninges, and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders of the<br/>spinal cord.<br/>The personalized structure of the particular chapters would help the contributor find the<br/>way to solve the complexity of the diseases and help the reader understand the coherence of<br/>clinical, epidemiological, pathological, and radiological features of infectious and immunological diseases. The authors of each chapter have provided thorough and illustrative reviews<br/>of these emerging and controversial topics, and we are indebted to them for their hard work<br/>and expertise. The materials included in the book were collected from lots of native hospitals<br/>and were well organized with excellent organization. We sincerely appreciate all the experts<br/>who contribute to this book, although there are some overlap among the different chapters and<br/>topics, which are undoubtedly benefits to better understand some specific entities from different standpoints. Our hope is that this will serve as a reference textbook that will benefit a<br/>spectrum of readers, from medical students, radiology residents, and neuroradiology fellows to<br/>the junior and senior neuroradiologists, as well as readers in neurology, neurosurgery, and<br/>associated disciplines.<br/>I would like to appreciate my academic mentors, Prof. Xue-jian Wang, Prof. Bin Zhao, and<br/>Prof. Gao-jun Teng, who had woken my interest on radiology and had led me to pursue this<br/>career. As friends and companions, Prof. Chi S. Zee and Prof. Meng Law inspired me not only |
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during composing this book but also during my visiting fellowship study in Keck Medical<br/>Center, University of Southern California. Further, I also thank the project coordinators, Mr.<br/>James Hu, Mr. Vignesh Iyyadurai Suresh and Ms. Shanjini Rajasekaran from Springer PG,<br/>who patiently assisted me during collecting and editing the manuscript and advised me<br/>patiently regarding the structure and details of this book. Last but not least, I sincerely thank<br/>my parents, my wife, and my daughter, for giving me ample space and time to be myself for<br/>creating and editing this book.<br/>The contributors and I would be grateful to the enthusiastic readers who are giving constructive criticism of this book. We would like to be kept informed if anything would need<br/>polishing in the next edition in the future. |
