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J Psychiatry Neurosci 2019 Apr 17;44(3):1-16. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

From the Department of Neuroscience, Functional Pharmacology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (Gaudio, Olivo, Schiöth); the Centre for Integrated Research, Area of Diagnostic Imaging, Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy (Gaudio); the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Neuroimaging Laboratory, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (Carducci, Piervincenzi); and the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia (Schiöth).

Background: Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are complex mental disorders, and their etiology is still not fully understood. This paper reviews the literature on diffusion tensor imaging studies in patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa to explore the usefulness of white matter microstructural analysis in understanding the pathophysiology of eating disorders.

Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify diffusion tensor imaging studies that compared patients with an eating disorder to control groups. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Apr 1;22:101806. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Periventricular white matter injury is common in very preterm infants and it is associated with long term neurodevelopmental impairments. While evidence supports the protective effects of erythropoetin (EPO) in preventing injury, we currently lack the complete understanding of how EPO affects the emergence and maturation of anatomical brain connectivity and function. In this case-control study, connectomic analysis based on diffusion MRI tractography was applied to evaluate the effect of early high-dose EPO in preterm infants. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Mar 26;22:101791. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

School of Psychology, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Objective: To investigate the structural integrity of fibre tracts underlying overt motor behaviour in PDOC.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 15 PDOC patients and 22 healthy participants. Eight PDOC patients met the criteria for the vegetative state, 5 met the criteria for the minimally conscious state and 2 met the criteria for emerging from the minimally conscious state. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Apr 10;23:101820. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King''s College London, UK. Electronic address:

Diffusion MRI (dMRI) studies using the tensor model have identified abnormal white matter development associated with perinatal risk factors in preterm infants studied at term equivalent age (TEA). However, this model is an oversimplification of the underlying neuroanatomy. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) is a novel quantitative framework, which identifies microstructural and macrostructural changes in individual fibre populations within voxels containing crossing fibres. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Apr 10;23:101821. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, F-75013 Paris, France; ICM Team Movement Investigation and Therapeutics, France; AP-HP, Urgences Cérébro-Vasculaires, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. Electronic address:

The relationship between stroke topography and functional outcome has largely been studied with binary manual lesion segmentations. However, stroke topography may be better characterized by continuous variables capable of reflecting the severity of ischemia, which may be more pertinent for long-term outcome. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) constitutes a powerful means of quantifying the degree of acute ischemia and its potential relation to functional outcome. Read More

Personal Ment Health 2019 May;13(2):96-106

Unit of Psychiatry, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric condition associated with the impairment of the frontolimbic network. However, a growing body of studies suggests that brain dysfunction underling BPD could involve other brain areas. We explored the whole-brain white matter (WM) organization in BPD patients to clarify the structural pattern underlying the disease and its relationship with clinical features. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Mar 20:101761. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery Associates (NeuroCENNA), BP-A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, MRI Research Centre "SUN-FISM", University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", P.zza Miraglia 2, Naples 80138, Italy.

Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) was designed for testing patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a multi-system neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive physical disability. In this study, we aim to explore the potential brain microstructural substrates associated with performance on ECAS in the early stages of ALS, using a whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics diffusion tensor imaging approach. Thirty-six non-demented ALS patients, assessed using ECAS, and 35 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. Read More

Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract 2019 Apr 15:1-6. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

a Department of Radiology , The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University , Hefei , China.

Background: Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding corticospinal tract (CST) changes in alcohol dependence. Here, we aimed to clarify this issue by examining the micro-structural integrity differences of distinct CST segments between alcohol-dependent patients and healthy controls.

Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging was performed in a total of 39 male individuals, including 19 alcohol-dependent patients and 20 age-matched healthy controls. Read More

Neuropsychologia 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

White matter microstructure changes substantially in aging. To better understand how the integrity of white matter structures supports the selective learning of rewarding material, 23 healthy older adults were tested on a value-directed remembering task. This task involved successive free recall word lists where items differed in importance, as denoted by value cues preceding each word. Read More

Netw Neurosci 2019 1;3(2):521-538. Epub 2019 Mar 1.

Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.

Inefficient integration between bottom-up visual input and higher order visual processing regions is implicated in visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we investigated white matter contributions to this perceptual imbalance hypothesis. Twenty-nine PD patients were assessed for hallucinatory behavior. Read More

Oxid Med Cell Longev 2019 7;2019:1292891. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Department of Neurosurgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, China.

Several studies have revealed the neurotoxicity of 1-trichloromethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (TaClo). However, the underlying mechanism has not been completely elucidated, particularly . This study was designed to study the neurotoxicity of TaClo by stereotactically injecting TaClo into the striatum of Wistar rats. Read More

Front Integr Neurosci 2019 29;13:10. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) commonly involves auditory and/or tactile domains, and can affect children with or without additional neurodevelopmental challenges. In this study, we examined white matter microstructural and connectome correlates of auditory over-responsivity (AOR), analyzing prospectively collected data from 39 boys, aged 8-12 years. In addition to conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) maps - including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD); we used DTI and high-resolution T1 scans to develop connectome Edge Density (ED) maps. Read More

Ochsner J 2019 ;19(1):43-48

Department of Neurological Surgery, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA.

Intradural spinal tumors are surgically challenging lesions, and intraoperative spinal navigation offers clear potential assistance. While intraoperative computed tomography (iCT) of bony anatomy is routinely performed, coregistration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to facilitate intradural spinal tumor resection is not widely described. We present 2 cases in which iCT was coregistered with MRI and DTI for navigational guidance in the resection of intradural spinal tumors to assess technical feasibility and surgical efficacy. Read More

Neurosurgery 2019 May;84(5):E273

Introduction: Gliomas are highly infiltrative primary brain tumours. Glioma infiltration is difficult to identify clinically using conventional diagnostic imaging. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify glioma infiltration in peritumour white matter (WM) and characterized differences between histological subtypes. Read More

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (MCC), College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Objectives: Sarcopenia is known to be associated with increased stiffness in brain arteries, which causes deterioration in brain structure and function. In this study, the authors evaluated the deterioration of neural tracts using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) in elderly women with sarcopenia and investigated whether deterioration of neural tracts is consistent with clinical findings.

Methods: Twenty elderly women with sarcopenia were recruited. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 12;9(1):5967. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Departments of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, P.R. China.

This study aimed to explore the effects of radiochemotherapy on the neurocognitive function of patients with high-grade gliomas (HGG). The mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), event-related potential P300 (ERP-P300), and specific MRI parameters were compared, and the associations between specific MRI parameters and different doses of radiation were determined for before and up to 12 months after radiotherapy. There were no significant differences in MMSE, MoCA, or ERP-P300 before and after radiotherapy. Read More

BMC Neurol 2019 Apr 12;19(1):62. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Chiayi Branch, No.6 Chia-Pu Rd. West Sec., Chiayi County, Taiwan.

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by facial pain that may be sudden, intense, and recurrent. Neurosurgical interventions, such as radiofrequency rhizotomy, can relieve TN pain, but their mechanisms and effects are unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the microstructural tissue changes of the trigeminal nerve (TGN) in patients with TN after they underwent radiofrequency rhizotomy. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Early social experiences, particularly maternal care, shape behavioral and physiological development in primates. Thus, it is not surprising that adverse caregiving, such as child maltreatment leads to a vast array of poor developmental outcomes, including increased risk for psychopathology across the lifespan. Studies of the underlying neurobiology of this risk have identified structural and functional alterations in cortico-limbic brain circuits that seem particularly sensitive to these early adverse experiences and are associated with anxiety and affective disorders. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Apr 10;196:68-80. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a diffusion MRI (dMRI) technique to quantify brain microstructural properties. While DKI measures are sensitive to tissue alterations, they are also affected by signal alterations caused by imaging artifacts such as noise, motion and Gibbs ringing. Consequently, DKI often yields output parameter values (e. Read More

Brain Imaging Behav 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Neuropsychiatric Institute and Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiang Su, China.

Cognitive deficit is a key feature of late-onset depression (LOD) and remains after clinical recovery. LOD has been associated with widespread neurobiological difficulties, including atrophy in gray and white matter (WM) tissue in areas distributed throughout the brain. However, little is known about the topological pattern changes of WM structural networks in LOD in the remitted state and its relationship to cognitive deficits. Read More

Quant Imaging Med Surg 2019 Feb;9(2):292-303

Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.

Background: Segmentation is a crucial and necessary step in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis of the cervical spinal cord. In existing studies, different diffusive metric maps [B0, fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity (AD) maps] have been involved in the segmentation of tissues of the cervical spinal cord. The selection of a diffusive metric map for segmentation may affect the accuracy of segmentation and then affect the validity and effectiveness of the extracted diffusive features. Read More

Quant Imaging Med Surg 2019 Feb;9(2):210-218

Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.

Background: High-dimensional image data including diffusion weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging and dynamic imaging are important in exploring the connectivity, cellularity, pharmacokinetic and blood supply. IMAge/enGINE is software especially designed for high-dimensional medical image computing.

Methods: IMAge/enGINE is implemented based on open-source and cross-platform tools such as Qt, ITK and VTK. Read More

J Clin Med 2019 Apr 10;8(4). Epub 2019 Apr 10.

IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128, Pisa, Italy.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that is characterized by an altered brain connectivity organization. Autistic traits below the clinical threshold (i.e. Read More

PLoS One 2019 10;14(4):e0213528. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Service d'imagerie 2, Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strabourg, France.

Locked-in syndrome (LIS) is a state of quadriplegia and anarthria with preserved consciousness, which is generally triggered by a disruption of specific white matter fiber tracts, following a lesion in the ventral part of the pons. However, the impact of focal lesions on the whole brain white matter microstructure and structural connectivity pathways remains unknown. We used diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) and tract-based statistics to characterise the whole white matter tracts in seven consecutive LIS patients, with ventral pontine injuries but no significant supratentorial lesions detected with morphological MRI. Read More

Front Aging Neurosci 2019 22;11:39. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized in the late stages by amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Nevertheless, recent evidence has indicated that early changes in cerebral connectivity could compromise cognitive functions even before the appearance of the classical neuropathological features. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and volumetry were performed in the triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3xTg-AD) at 2 months of age, prior to the development of intraneuronal plaque accumulation. Read More

Asian Spine J 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Radiology and Imaging,Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Secunderabad, India.

Study Design: Observational comparative study.

Purpose: To compare fractional anisotropy (FA) maps with T2 values of the nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) of intervertebral discs in healthy volunteers and patients to develop a predictive disc health scale.

Overview Of Literature: T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not sensitive to early morphological changes and provides no quantitative biomarker profile for early degeneration. Read More

J Psychiatry Neurosci 2019 Apr 9;44(3):1-10. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

From the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Lim, Hart, Mirza, Rubia); the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Imperial College – Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore (Lim); the NatBrainLab, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Howells); and the Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Mehta, Simmons).

Background: Childhood abuse is associated with structural brain abnormalities. Few studies have investigated white matter tract abnormalities in medication-naive, drug-free individuals who experienced childhood abuse. We examined the association between childhood abuse and abnormalities in white matter tracts in that population, controlling for psychiatric comorbidities. Read More

J Neurotrauma 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Hospital 12 de Octubre, Neurosurgery , Crta de Andalucia km 5,4 , Madrid, Madrid, Spain , 28041 ;

Traumatic axonal injury (TAI) is the main cause of cognitive and psychological disfunction after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is considered a useful technique for indirect assessment of white matter (WM) integrity after a TBI. Scattered WM alterations and its relationship with patient severity have been discovered in normal appearing conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies based on DTI sequences. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Apr 5;196:49-58. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4; Owerko Centre, Alberta Children Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4. Electronic address:

White matter development continues throughout childhood and into early adulthood, but few studies have examined early childhood, and the specific trajectories and regional variation in this age range remain unclear. The aim of this study was to characterize developmental trajectories and sex differences of white matter in typically developing young children. Three hundred and ninety-six diffusion tensor imaging datasets from 120 children (57 male) aged 2-8 years were analyzed using tractography. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2019 ;68(3):1013-1027

Department of Neurology, XuanWu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative diseases. The study of the pathological mechanism of AD and early-stage diagnosis is essential and important. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), the first at-risk stage of AD occurring prior to amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), is of great research value and has gained our interest. Read More

Magn Reson Med 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Radiology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Purpose: Noninvasive measurement of mechanical properties of brain tissue using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has been a promising method for investigating neurologic disorders such as multiple sclerosis, hydrocephalus, and Alzheimer's. However, because of the regional and directional dependency of brain stiffness, estimating anisotropic stiffness is important. This study investigates isotropic and anisotropic stiffness as a function of age as well as the correlation between isotropic and anisotropic stiffness. Read More

J Agric Biol Environ Stat 2019 Mar 7;24(1):112-129. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Statistical Science and School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

We propose a copula-based approach for analyzing functional data with correlated multiple functional outcomes exhibiting heterogeneous shape characteristics. To accommodate the possibly large number of parameters due to having several functional outcomes, parameter estimation is performed in two steps: first, the parameters for the marginal distributions are estimated using the skew t family, and then the dependence structure both within and across outcomes is estimated using a Gaussian copula. We develop an estimation algorithm for the dependence parameters based on the Karhunen-Loève expansion and an EM algorithm that significantly reduces the dimension of the problem and is computationally efficient. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand; Brain Research New Zealand, New Zealand. Electronic address:

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene coding for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has previously been associated with a reduction in recognition memory performance. While previous findings have highlighted that this SNP contributes to recognition memory, little is known about its influence on subprocesses of recognition, familiarity and recollection. Previous research has reported reduced hippocampal volume and decreased fractional anisotropy in carriers of the Met allele across a range of white matter tracts, including those networks that may support recognition memory. Read More

Neuroimage 2019 Apr 3;195:243-251. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Ultrastructural Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan; Ichinohe Group, Laboratory for Molecular Analysis of Higher Brain Function, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan. Electronic address:

In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), disrupted functional and structural connectivity in the social brain has been suggested as the core biological mechanism underlying the social recognition deficits of this neurodevelopmental disorder. In this study, we aimed to identify genetic and neurostructural abnormalities at birth in a non-human primate model of ASD, the common marmoset with maternal exposure to valproic acid (VPA), which has been reported to display social recognition deficit in adulthood. Using a comprehensive gene expression analysis, we found that 20 genes were significantly downregulated in VPA-exposed neonates. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2019 Apr 3;367:194-200. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address:

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) may lead to brain atrophy and cognitive dysfunction. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of nimodipine and deferoxamine on these sequelae of SAH. A rat model of SAH was established by the double-hemorrhage method. Read More

Neurology 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

From the Imaging of Dementia and Aging Laboratory and Center for Neurosciences (P.M., E.F., B.S., O.M., C.D.), Davis, CA; and Department of Neurology (D.K.J., J.M.O., S.T.F., C.D.), University of California, Davis.

Objective: To determine whether free water (FW) content, initially developed to correct metrics derived from diffusion tensor imaging and recently found to be strongly associated with vascular risk factors, may constitute a sensitive biomarker of white matter (WM) microstructural differences associated with cognitive performance but remains unknown.

Methods: Five hundred thirty-six cognitively diverse individuals, aged 77 ± 8 years, received yearly comprehensive clinical evaluations and a baseline MRI examination of whom 224 underwent follow-up MRI. WM microstructural measures, including FW, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity corrected for FW and WM hyperintensity burden were computed within WM voxels of each individual. Read More

J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2019 Apr 5:271678X19839502. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

1 Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

Relative oxygen extraction fraction (rOEF) is a fundamental indicator of cerebral metabolic function. An easily applicable method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based rOEF mapping is the multi-parametric quantitative blood oxygenation level dependent (mq-BOLD) approach with separate acquisitions of transverse relaxation times and T and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) based relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV). Given that transverse relaxation and rCBV in white matter (WM) strongly depend on nerve fiber orientation, mq-BOLD derived rOEF is expected to be affected as well. Read More

J Neurosurg 2019 04 5:1-8. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute.

Objective: The choice of transsylvian versus transcortical corridors for resection of insular gliomas remains controversial. Functional pathway compromise from transcortical transgression and vascular injury during transsylvian dissection are the primary concerns. In this study, data from a single-center experience with both approaches were compared to determine whether one approach was associated with a higher rate of morbidity than the other. Read More

J Craniofac Surg 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Radiology, Ondokuz Mayis University Faculty of Medicine, Samsun.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the microstructural changes to the olfactory bulb (OB) in patients with nasal septum deviation (NSD) using diffusion tensor imaging and to research the association between these changes and the degree of NSD.

Methods: Ninety-six patients with NSD (46 males, 50 females) who received diffusion tensor imaging were assessed by 2 independent readers. The patients were separated into 3 groups according to the NSD angle. Read More

J Neurotrauma 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Neurosurgery , 9200 W Wiscosnin Av , Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States , 53226 ;

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), based on the property of preferential diffusion of water molecules in biological tissue is seeing increasing clinical application in the pathologies of the central nervous system (CNS). Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one such area where the use of DTI allows for the evaluation of changes to microstructure of the spinal cord not detected on routine, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The insights obtained from preclinical models of SCI indicate correlation of quantitative DTI indices with histology and function, which points to the potential of DTI as a non-invasive, viable biomarker for integrity of white matter tracts in the spinal cord. Read More

Radiol Med 2019 Apr 4;124(4):243-252. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Biotechnology and Applied Clinical Sciences, S. Salvatore Hospital, University of L'Aquila, Vetoio Street, 1, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.

Imaging evaluation of soft tissue tumors is important for the diagnosis, staging, and follow-up. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred imaging modality due to its multiplanarity and optimal tissue contrast resolution. However, standard morphological sequences are often not sufficient to characterize the exact nature of the lesion, addressing the patient to an invasive bioptic examination for the definitive diagnosis. Read More

Brain Struct Funct 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Language Literacy and Music Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, 122051, India.

Music perceptual abilities are subjective and exhibit high inter-individual variability. Twenty-nine participants with varying degrees of musical training were tested for musical perception ability with the Profile of Music Perception Skills (PROMS) and brain structural measures obtained via diffusion tensor imaging. Controlling for the period of training, TBSS results showed that individuals with better musical perception abilities showed increased deviations from linear anisotropy in the corpus callosum. Read More

Neuroradiology 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 2 Sheba Rd, 52621, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Purpose: While MRI is the modality of choice for the assessment of patients with brain tumors, differentiation between various tumors based on their imaging characteristics might be challenging due to overlapping imaging features. The purpose of this study was to apply a machine learning scheme using basic and advanced MR sequences for distinguishing different types of brain tumors.

Methods: The study cohort included 141 patients (41 glioblastoma, 38 metastasis, 50 meningioma, and 12 primary central nervous system lymphoma). Read More

World J Radiol 2019 Mar;11(3):27-45

MR imaging Unit, Clínica Las Nieves, Jaen 23007, Spain.

In the new era of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the utility of chest MRI is increasing exponentially due to several advances, including absence of ionizing radiation, excellent tissue contrast and high capability for lesion characterization and treatment monitoring. The application of several of these diagnostic weapons in a multiparametric fashion enables to better characterize thymic epithelial tumors and other mediastinal tumoral lesions, accurate assessment of the invasion of adjacent structures and detection of pathologic lymph nodes and metastasis. Also, "do not touch lesions" could be identified with the associated impact in the management of those patients. Read More

J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University.

Purpose: Little is known about the effects of diabetes on motor recovery after cerebral infarct. To address this, we recruited patients with corona radiata infarct and controlled for the integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) determined using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).

Methods: One hundred patients were recruited, and DTT was performed within 7-30 days of infarct onset. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Apr;98(14):e15058

Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, Shangdong Province, China.

Background: Impaired language function is frequently observed as an initial sign in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, clinically, the early stages of ASD are difficult to distinguish from those of developmental language disorder (DLD).

Objective: To evaluate the ability of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters for language-related white matter tracts (arcuate fasciculus) to differentiate ASD from DLD among toddlers. Read More

Trials 2019 Apr 3;20(1):191. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.

Background: Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue currently approved for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Preclinical evidence in transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease suggests that liraglutide exerts neuroprotective effects by reducing amyloid oligomers, normalising synaptic plasticity and cerebral glucose uptake, and increasing the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the change in cerebral glucose metabolic rate after 12 months of treatment with liraglutide in participants with Alzheimer's disease compared to those who are receiving placebo. Read More

JAMA Psychiatry 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain.

Importance: Although the detrimental effects of alcohol on the brain are widely acknowledged, observed structural changes are highly heterogeneous, and diagnostic markers for characterizing alcohol-induced brain damage, especially in early abstinence, are lacking. This heterogeneity, likely contributed to by comorbidity factors in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), challenges a direct link of brain alterations to the pathophysiology of alcohol misuse. Translational studies in animal models may help bridge this causal gap. Read More

Psychophysiology 2019 Apr 3:e13376. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.

The five-factor model consists of cognitive-affective-behavioral trait dimensions (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness) that are central to models of psychopathology. In adults, individual differences in three of the Big Five traits, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness, have been linked to structural morphology and connectivity of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the amygdala, two brain regions critically involved in affective and regulatory processing. It is unclear whether these associations manifest in adolescence, a critical neurodevelopmental period during which many forms of psychiatric illness emerge. Read More