Xiaozhou Du

Objectives: Diprosopus is a rare subtype of conjoined twinning, with approximately 30 reported cases in English literature. Due to the rarity of conjoined twins, the mechanism leading to this developmental anomaly is not yet understood. Case presentation: We present a case of diprosopus with multimodality imaging (prenatal and postnatal), and with pathological correlations. Developmental anomalies include partial duplication of frontal lobes, formation of a midline “third” frontal lobe, as well as orofacial and cardiac anomalies. The constellation of anomalies coincide with development during embryonic days 23–26, where the anterior prosencephalon, prechordal plate/oropharyngeal membrane, and cardiogenic plate are in very close proximity to each other. Conclusions: This case offers an opportunity to better appreciate the radiologic and pathologic manifestations of diprosopus, and adds to the current body of evidence.

Owing to their spontaneous development of atherosclerosis, apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE^KO) are one of the best studied animal models for this disease. Little is known about the utility of various omega-3 fatty acid regimens, in particular fish oils, in preventing cardiac disease in ApoE^KO mice. The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation with either safflower oil (control), fish oil, flaxseed oil, or designed oil in ApoE^KO mice fed a high-fat diet for a total of 16 weeks. In-vivo cardiac function was assessed weekly using murine echocardiography. Blood pressure, plasma lipid levels, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were serially measured. The results show that ApoE^KO mice fed fish oil demonstrated an increase in left ventricular wall thickness as a result of increased afterload. Despite chronic treatment with fish oil over 16 weeks, blood pressure increased in ApoE^KO mice by 20% compared with the baseline. Both echocardiographic evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy and biochemical increase in BNP levels confirmed diastolic dysfunction in ApoE^KO mice fed fish oil. This suggests that high-fat diet supplemented with fish oil may lead to adverse cardiovascular effects in ApoE deficient mice.

Congenital pericardial cysts are benign lesions that arise from the pericardium during embryonic development. The diagnosis is based on typical imaging features, but atypical locations and signal magnetic resonance imaging sequences make it difficult to exclude other lesions. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging is a novel method that can be used to differentiate tissues based on their restriction to proton diffusion. Its use in differentiating pericardial cysts from other pericardial lesions has not yet been described.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) leads to structural heart disease, including dilated cardiomyopathy, in 90% of patients >18 years of age. Despite the ubiquity of cardiomyopathy associated with DMD, ventricular aneurysms in these patients have rarely been reported. We present a case of a basal inferoposterior aneurysm of the left ventricle in a 23-year-old male patient with DMD.